Cubs Try To Stay Hot On the Road Against Padres

The Chicago Cubs take on the San Diego Padres in a three-game series that starts on Monday night. They were on the winning end of some of the surprising MLB baseball scores of the weekend. Chicago took two of three from the Los Angeles Dodgers at Wrigley Field and now comes into this series having won six of its last seven contests.

San Diego is still trying to find some consistency, starting the season with a 5-7 mark. The Padres have alternated wins and losses over their last five games. They dropped two of three in a weekend series with the San Francisco Giants on the road.

Despite their struggles, the Padres are favored in the opener on the moneyline, getting -135 odds to the Cubs’ +115. Most sportsbooks have installed San Diego as the favorite (-165) to take the series as well, especially with Chicago’s rotation a little off due to injuries.

The first pitch of the opener is set for 9:40 p.m. ET at Petco Field, followed by a 10:05 p.m. start on Tuesday, and a 6:40 p.m. game for the finale.

Pitching Matchups

The Cubs are hoping that right-hander Javier Assad can get them off to a good start in this series after he was great in his first appearance of the 2024 campaign. The 26-year-old threw six scoreless innings against the Colorado Rockies last Tuesday, giving up just four hits while striking out five and walking one. 

Yu Darvish faces his former team that he spent three seasons with prior to coming to the Padres in 2021. The veteran right-hander is already making his fourth start of the season, bringing an 0-1 record and 2.30 ERA to the mound. He got his loss in his last outing against the St. Louis Cardinals, allowing three runs on five hits over a seven-inning stint.

This will most likely be a bullpen game for the Cubs, as it was in the game after Assad’s last start last week. There haven’t been many MLB rumors about the Cubs trying to deal with a starting pitcher yet. But the team certainly can’t go with a bullpen start every fifth game all season long.

Right-hander Joe Musgrove is going to try to get things together in his fourth start of the season. He is coming off his best outing of 2024. Musgrove (1-1, 6.28 ERA) allowed nine earned runs in his first two starts but went six innings against the Cardinals last week, allowing just one run and striking out seven.

Another veteran who has gotten off to a slow start to the campaign is Chicago righty Kyle Hendricks, who enters Wednesday’s game with an 0-1 record and 11.74 ERA. Hendricks has given up five earned runs in each of his first two starts of 2024, which he can’t afford to do for a third straight start.

San Diego will counter with righty Dylan Cease in the series finale. Cease has been solid but doesn’t have a win to show for it, starting 0-1 with a 3.38 ERA, striking out 13 in 10.2 innings of work. Cease had over 200 strikeouts in each of the last three seasons, so he’ll look to take advantage of some free-swinging Cub hitters.

Outfielders Leading The Offenses

The Cubs are trying to climb up the MLB division standings in the NL Central behind a familiar foe for the Padres, outfielder Cody Bellinger. The former Los Angeles Dodgers stalwart is in his second season with Chicago and is looking to recapture his NL MVP days of the last 2010s. He had a solo home run in Sunday’s win over his former team and has two on the season along with seven RBI.

San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr. already has three home runs in the early going of the season, powering the Padres’ offense. He’s batting .289 and had a hit in each game of the three-game weekend series against the Giants.

Padres Getting The Edge In Opener, Series

Wrapping up our Cubs vs Padres preview, San Diego is again the favorite on the moneyline for the opener and in the series for most sportsbooks. On the run line for the opener, the Cubs are -175 getting 1.5 runs, while the Padres are +155 giving those runs. The over/under for the game is set at 7.5 runs.

We like San Diego to take at least two of three in this series, including the opener. The Padres have a more balanced offense and are playing at home, though they are 3-4 at Petco this season. Chicago is having some trouble with its rotation, and that will hurt it in this series.

Cubs vs Padres Lines

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