The Brewers (26-18) and Cubs (29-18) meet at Wrigley Field for a three-game series. This is the first meeting of the season between NL Central opponents.
Chicago dropped its series against the White Sox over the weekend, losing the past two games. After going on a 10-game winning streak, the Cubs lost six of the next eight games. Chicago’s pitching staff has a 5.26 ERA (25th) over the last six games and allow a .265 opponent batting average (26th). The offense is hitting .205 in that span (26th), so it’s safe to say Chicago is in a slump.
Milwaukee lost its previous game, which snapped a three-game winning streak. The Brewers are 8-2 in the last 10 games and currently the hottest team in the NL Central. Milwaukee’s offense is clicking lately with a .263 batting average over the past week (6th). The Brewers’ pitching staff owns a 2.38 ERA (4th) as they’ve held opponents to three or fewer runs scored in eight of the last 10 games.
Let’s dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch first pitch, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game details & how to watch Brewers at Cubs
- Date: Monday, May 18, 2026
- Time: 7:40 PM EST
- Site: Wrigley Field
- City: Chicago, IL
- Network/Streaming: MLB TV
Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.
Odds for the Brewers at the Cubs
The latest odds as of Monday:
- Moneyline: Milwaukee Brewers (+139), Chicago Cubs (-168)
- Spread: Brewers +1.5 (-136), Cubs -1.5 (+113)
- Total: 10.5
Probable starting pitchers for Brewers at Cubs
- Monday’s pitching matchup (May 18): Shota Imanaga vs. Brandon Sproat
- Cubs: Shota Imanaga
2026 stats: 54.1 IP, 4-3, 2.32 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 59 Ks, 13 BB
2026 Stats: 36.0 IP, 1-2, 5.75 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 36 Ks, 20 BB
Who’s Hot? Who’s Not!
- The Cubs’ Seiya Suzuki is hitting .258 with 32 hits and 38 strikeouts over 124 at-bats
- The Cubs’ Carson Kelly is hitting .300 with 33 hits and 45 total bases over 110 at-bats
- The Brewers’ Brice Turang is hitting .268 with 44 hits and 74 total bases over 153 at-bats
- The Brewers’ Garrett Mitchell is hitting .223 with 27 hits and 54 strikeouts over 121 at-bats
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Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Brewers at Cubs
- The Cubs are 21-26 ATS this season
- The Brewers are 26-18 ATS this season
- The Cubs are 27-19-1 to the Over
- The Brewers are 22-21-1 to the Under
- The Cubs are 12-11 ATS at home, but 9-11 ATS as a home favorite
- The Brewers are 11-9 ATS on the road and 3-2 ATS as a road underdog (1-4 on the ML)
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
Expert picks & predictions for tonight’s game between the Brewers and the Cubs
Rotoworld Bet Best Bet
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Monday’s game between the Brewers and the Cubs.
- Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Cubs on the Moneyline.
- Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Cubs at -1.5.
- Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Over on the Game Total of 10.5
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