Chicago Cubs vs San Diego Padres Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 04/29/26

The Chicago Cubs bounced back against the San Diego Padres last night, helped by a 3-run homer from Pete Crow-Armstrong in the 7th inning that gave Chicago an 8-3 lead. Now the Cubs will look to secure a series win on the road as they send Jameson Taillon to the mound who has struggled slightly this season, entering at 1-1 with a 4.55 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP through five starts. For the Padres, they’ll hand the ball over to Matt Waldron who has struggled even more, going 0-1 with a 12.46 ERA and a  2.31 WHIP through 2 starts. 

The two teams Waldron has faced this season are the Rockies and the Angels, and neither lineup compared to the Cubs offensively. Over their last 14 games, Chicago leads the league with a .295 batting average and averaging 6.5 runs per game. As for the Padres, they’re batting .252 and averaging 4.7 runs per game over their last 13 games. While Taillon hasn’t been sharp this season, I trust him more to limit damage in this matchup than Waldron. Waldron has yet to show enough to back confidently, and with the Cubs swinging hot bats right now, Chicago is the much stronger team heading into this afternoon matchup. 

Cubs vs Padres prediction: Cubs ML (-115) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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