Milwaukee Brewers vs Chicago Cubs Prediction, Preview and Odds - 08/21/2025

Game Time: 2:20 pm ET, Thursday, August 21, 2025

Venue:  Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL

Where to Watch:  MLBN

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Brewers +118, Cubs -144; Over/Under:  7 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Brewers +120, Cubs -140; Over/Under:  7 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Brewers +120, Cubs -145; Over/Under:  7 runs

Milwaukee Brewers:  79-47 (1st place, NL Central)

Chicago Cubs:  72-54 (2nd place, NL Central)

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Milwaukee Brewers:  7-3 last 10

Chicago Cubs:  5-5 last 10

The Brewers are entering this series off a loss and won their 3-game series against the Cincinnati Reds 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 79-47 record overall and have a road record of 37-27. This is the series finale of a 5-game series with the Cubs on Thursday with the 4th game still to be played on Wednesday. The Brewers won the series opener on Monday, lost the 2nd game on Tuesday, and lost the 3rd game on Tuesday. Their offense ranks 11th in the MLB with a .738 OPS. Rookie pitcher Jacob Misiorowski is their starting pitcher on Wednesday while Quinn Priester is making his start in this game on Thursday. He is 11-2 with a 3.48 ERA this season. His team won their last 14 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 2 ER, 2 HR, and 1 BB with 5 SO on 6 hits through 5.1 IP against the Cincinnati Reds.

The Cubs are entering this series off a win and won their 3-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 72-54 record overall and have a home record of 40-24. This is the 5th game of a 5-game series with the Brewers on Thursday with the 4th game of this series still to be played on Wednesday. The Cubs lost the 1st game of this series on Monday, won the 2nd game on Tuesday, and won the 3rd game on Tuesday. Their offense ranks 6th in the MLB with a .748 OPS. Colin Rea is their starting pitcher on Wednesday while Shota Imanaga is making his start in this game on Thursday. He is 8-5 with a 3.06 ERA this season. His team lost 2 of their last 3 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 1 earned run, 1 homer, and 2 walks with 6 strikeouts on 3 hits through 7 innings pitched against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The current betting odds have the Brewers listed as an underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Brewers have looked great in their games this season with their 79-47 record overall which has them right at the top of the NL Central with the best record in the entire MLB. They have also been a good road team this year with their 37-27 road record. Meanwhile, the Cubs have looked really good in their games this season with their 72-54 record overall which has them right near the top of the NL Central and in the division race. They have also looked great in their own ballpark this year with their 40-24 home record. Both teams are going to have solid starters in this one, but the Brewers are still 7-3 in their last 10 games and have been rolling lately while the Cubs are 5-5 in their last 10. The Cubs won the double-header on Tuesday and have a lead in the series now, but the Brewers will be looking to bring their best effort after losing both of those games, especially with the implications this series has on the division race. Priester is on the mound for the Brewers in this one and he has looked great this year. He is 11-2 with a 3.48 ERA and the team has been having a ton of success with him lately. He is coming off another good start in which he gave up 2 earned runs which has been a common theme for him, and the team has won 14 games in a row now with him starting too. Imanaga is on the mound for the Cubs in this one and he has also looked great this season. He is 8-5 with a 3.06 ERA and hasn't been giving up many runs lately. He only gave up 1 earned run in his last start, but his team has still lost 2 of their last 3 games with him starting. The Brewers have a lot of momentum with Priester pitching and they should be able to edge out the Cubs in this one. The best way to place a bet here is on the Brewers to win this game. 

Brewers Cubs Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Thursday, August 21, 2025 (2:20 pm ET start time) is Brewers 4 Cubs 3.

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Milwaukee Brewers: 265-191 (+54.1 units) on the moneyline in all games. 127-101 (+34.3 units) on the moneyline in road games. 98-89 (+32.9 units) on the moneyline as an underdog of +100 or higher. 39-28 UNDER on the road against division opponents.

Chicago Cubs: 48-49 (-12.5 units) on the moneyline at home with a money line of -100 to -150. 149-158 (-20.4 units) on the moneyline vs. a team with a good bullpen whose WHIP is 1.350 or better. 22-26 (-4.5 units) on the moneyline vs. NL teams allowing 4.0 or less runs/game on the season. 30-16 UNDER when the total is 7 or less.

Milwaukee Brewers:  D. Hall (RP) Fifteen Day IL - Oblique. L. Henderson (SP) Fifteen Day IL - Elbow. J. Chourio (CF) Ten Day IL - Hamstring. J. Montgomery (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. J. Bauers (LF) Ten Day IL - Shoulder. R. Hoskins (1B) Ten Day IL - Thumb. G. Mitchell (CF) Sixty Day IL - Oblique. R. Zastryzny (RP) Fifteen Day IL - Ribs. C. Thomas (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. R. Gasser (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow.

Chicago Cubs:  C. Horton (SP) Day To Day - Finger. M. Amaya (C) Ten Day IL - Ankle. M. Soroka (SP) Fifteen Day IL - Shoulder. E. Morgan (RP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. J. Steele (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow.

"You've got to credit them. They played inspired. We didn’t play poorly, but we didn’t do the things we normally do. We didn’t take the free bases. We didn’t get that 50/50 play. It didn’t go our way today. But credit the Cubs for that.” - Pat Murphy after his team’s loss against the Cubs in their double-header on Tuesday.

“Baseball is a sport where you can trick yourself into saying, ‘Things are going bad,’ and they’re not. And I think this team understands that. This is a good baseball team that’s earned a very good position and future and excitement for the last seven weeks of the season. And we’re looking forward to that. That means there’s challenges, man. Bring them on. The regular season is tough, man. Let’s go, man. Let’s bring it on. We’re not scared of these challenges and the guys in there aren’t scared of these challenges.” - Craig Counsell after his team’s win against the Brewers in their double-header on Tuesday.

Sal Frelick (L) CF

Caleb Durbin (R) 3B

William Contreras (R) DH

Christian Yelich (L) LF

Andrew Vaughn (R) 1B

Isaac Collins (S) RF

Brice Turang (L) 2B

Danny Jansen (R) C

Joey Ortiz (R) SS

Michael Busch (L) 1B

Ian Happ (S) LF

Seiya Suzuki (R) DH

Pete Crow-Armstrong (L) CF

Carson Kelly (R) C

Nico Hoerner (R) 2B

Owen Caissie (L) RF

Dansby Swanson (R) SS

Matt Shaw (R) 3B

Batting Average:  Andrew Vaughn (.323)

Hits:  Brice Turang (127)

Home Runs:  Christian Yelich (26)

RBI:  Christian Yelich (87)

Stolen Bases:  Brice Turang (21)

Wins:  Freddy Peralta (15)

Saves:  Trevor Megill (29)

ERA:  Logan Henderson (1.78)

Batting Average:  Nico Hoerner (.291)

Hits:  Nico Hoerner (133)

Home Runs:  Pete Crow-Armstrong (27)

RBI:  Seiya Suzuki (86)

Stolen Bases:  Pete Crow-Armstrong (30)

Wins:  Matthew Boyd (12)

Saves:  Daniel Palencia (17)

ERA:  Michael Fulmer (0.00)

Managers:

Milwaukee Brewers: Pat Murphy (2nd season)

Chicago Cubs: Craig Counsell (2nd season)