San Diego Padres vs Chicago Cubs Prediction, 7/1/2026 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: San Diego Padres vs Chicago Cubs

Date: Wednesday, July 1, 2026

Location: Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL

TV: Marquee

Odds/Point Spread: San Diego (+162) Chicago (-196)

The San Diego Padres (43-40) are headed to Wrigley Field on Wednesday where they will take on the Chicago Cubs (47-38). The moneyline on this game has San Diego at +162 while Chicago is coming in at -196. The over/under is 9. The men taking the mound will be Walker Buehler and Colin Rea.

As a team, the San Diego Padres are scoring 3.9 runs per contest, which ranks them 30th in baseball. They have notched a total of 323 runs scored while holding a team on-base percentage of .298. The Padres have hit 120 two-baggers as a team and have knocked 84 balls out of the park. They have accumulated 315 RBI's as well as 600 hits this year, and their team batting average is at .222. San Diego owns a slugging percentage of .365 and have been called out on strikes 697 times, while taking a walk on 276 occasions.

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The Padres have an ERA of 3.89 on the campaign (10th in MLB), and the staff has struck out 687 hitters. Padres pitchers have surrendered 80 long balls and 337 runs in total (6th in the league). Their pitching staff has walked 291 opposing hitters and their FIP is 3.98 as a unit this season. San Diego has yielded 670 hits (8.2 per 9 innings) in addition to 318 earned runs. Their strikeout to walk ratio is 2.36 and the pitching staff holds a collective WHIP of 1.31.

The Padres have sent 285 relievers to the hill this season. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 148 base runners over the course of the season with 31.1% of those runners ended up crossing the plate. The bullpen have accumulated 52 holds over the course of the season (8th in MLB). Padres pitchers have entered the game with runners on base 86 times in addition to having 98 appearances in high leverage situations. They have recorded 25 saves for the season and have blown 9 of 34 save opportunities. The Padres relievers have a save percentage of 73.5% and have stepped onto the mound in 88 save situations.

The San Diego Padres have a total of 2,210 putouts over the course of the season, in addition to 739 assists and 27 errors. Their fielding percentage sits at .991 which is 2nd in MLB, and they have turned 73 double plays. The Padres have converted 70.0% of balls in play into outs in their 6,630 innings, which has them sitting at 14th in the majors.

Buehler (62-32 win-loss record in his career) is the owner of a FIP of 3.49 while facing 3,795 batters in the majors. He has given up 794 base knocks (7.8 hits per 9 innings) and has 277 free passes. His earned run average is 3.54 (361 ER's allowed) and his WHIP is 1.168. Buehler has taken the hill for 917 frames and has earned 916 punch outs in his MLB career.

Chicago has accounted for 99 home runs so far this year and 387 runs batted in. They have 136 two-baggers, while walking 377 times and racking up 416 runs. The Chicago Cubs have recorded an OBP of .336 and a team batting average of .241 on the season. The Cubs hold a team slugging % of .400 and they tally 4.89 runs per game (6th in MLB). They have been rung up on 722 occasions (12th in baseball) and have notched a total of 700 base hits.

The Cubs hold a team WHIP of 1.250 and have a FIP of 4.67 as a squad so far this year. They have earned a strikeout to walk ratio of 8.00 (669 strikeouts vs 263 bases on balls). They are sitting at 16th in the league as a pitching staff in total hits surrendered with 682. They have surrendered 127 dingers and they relinquish 4.46 runs per 9 innings (13th in the league). The Chicago pitching staff have surrendered 375 runs so far this year while holding an ERA of 4.21 (354 earned runs relinquished).

They sit at 28th in the league holding a save percentage of 48.1%, and they have sent 277 bullpen pitchers onto the field this year. Their relievers have come in 83 times in high leverage situations and also on 84 occasions with base runners. Sitting with 60 save situations, the Cubs have 28 holds in addition to 14 blown saves. Chicago has called on bullpen pitchers to take the mound in 27 save opportunities and they have walked away with 13 saves. Chicago relief pitchers have an inherited score percentage of 30.3% out of 119 inherited runners.

The Chicago Cubs have turned 59 double plays and hold a fielding percentage of .989 (5th in professional baseball). The Cubs have recorded 784 assists, 34 errors and have earned 2,269 putouts this season. In 6,807 innings played, the Cubs hold a defensive efficiency of 72.3% (2nd in professional baseball).

Rea (42-32 career win-loss record) has a 4.46 ERA while giving up 8.8 hits per 9 innings. He has a K/BB ratio of 2.61 and he has faced 2,936 opposing batters so far in his pro baseball career. He has conceded 342 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.287 and a FIP of 4.4. So far in his career, Rea has allowed 675 hits while he has accumulated 556 strikeouts in 690 innings.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread or moneyline?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take San Diego (+162)

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