Chad Hartsock
ConsultantChad's Picks
Friday 1:20. The best time in baseball. It is Friday afternoon baseball at Wrigley Field, as the Arizona Diamondbacks take on the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs were off yesterday, and the D-Backs wish they were. Arizona was drubbed, 13-1, by Milwaukee in an absolute disaster game. The only upside to that game for Arizona was that they basically gave the bullpen the day off. On Friday, we ask the most important question for a Wrigley game: what is the weather? It is going to be cold (40s) with the wind blowing in. That’s all I need to hear. Give me the game total under.
When it is cold and windy at Wrigley, I am pretty much an auto-under. The pitchers are Zac Gallen and Colin Rea. Gallen had to leave his last start early with an injury, but he did not end up missing a start. He has been good this season as he looks to rebuild from a bad 2025. He is better than Rea, but on cold days like this, it is just tough to pitch. It is even harder to hit, especially with the wind blowing in. I’ll be betting on the weather on Friday. The total sits at 7, and I don’t really want to chase it much lower, but runs should be at a premium.
Diamondbacks vs Cubs Prediction: Under 7 (-110) available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.
It is getaway day on Thursday, so the Arizona Diamondbacks and Milwaukee Brewers have an afternoon dish. These teams have split the first 2 games in the series, with Milwaukee’s offense exploding on Tuesday, followed by several Arizona homers on Wednesday. With a couple of veteran arms on the mound Thursday, we should expect the offenses to be held in check a bit more. I think the wrong team is favored in this spot, so I am happy to take the Diamondbacks to win this game.
Brandon Woodruff and Michael Soroka will toe the slab on Thursday afternoon. Both guys are looking for redemption seasons, and both have started well through the first month. What moves the needle for me in this game, though, is the offenses vs right-handed pitching. The Diamondbacks, with all their switch hitters, can stack the top half of the lineups with lefties, and they have a top-10 slugging percentage vs RHP. The Brewers, on the other hand, are in the bottom 10. I think the Snakes have a much better opportunity to hit for damage than the Brewers, especially with the current construction of the Milwaukee lineup that is missing several key bats to injury. Give me the D-Backs.
Diamondbacks vs Brewers prediction: Arizona Diamondbacks ML (+105) available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.
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