San Diego Padres vs. Chicago Cubs: Odds, Preview, & Prediction | Monday, June 13th

San Diego Padres vs. Chicago Cubs Preview: Padres have great value with Darvish on the bump

Tonight, the San Diego Padres travel to Wrigley Field to take on the Chicago Cubs in a four-game stint. The Padres have been very good on the road, and the Cubs have been very bad at home. San Diego has a 20-11 record away from San Diego, while Chicago has a 11-20 record at home. This is a clear advantage on one side, and the value they have to win is great.

Below, you will find a brief preview of each team followed by a prediction for the game.

San Diego Padres Preview:

"Absolutely no doubt about this one" - San Diego Padres

The Padres come into this series having won four out of their last six games. The pitching staff and the bullpen has led the way for the Padres so far, ranking within the top 10 in the MLB in both team ERA and bullpen ERA. The offense has been very opportunistic as the team's batting average is below average but they are scoring 4.39 runs per game, which is above average.

Yu Darvish will get the start for the San Diego Padres tonight, and he has been very good this season. Darvish has a 5-3 record with an ERA of 3.61 through 11 starts. Although he has been good, Darvish has struggled a little with his consistency. He hasn't performed extremely well against good offenses, but luckily for him, this Cubs offense is not that great.

The Padres offense has had a hard time producing runs, but they have a great matchup tonight. They face a left-handed pitcher tonight, and they have performed far better against southpaws. The key to victory for the Padres is to get a quality start from Yu Darvish and find a way to produce runs early.

Chicago Cubs Preview:

"Final: Yankees 18, Cubs 4" - Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs come into this series having lost six games in a row. Both the pitching staff and the offense have struggled during this rough stretch, failing to score more than four runs and giving up 5+ runs in five out of six games. The Cubs will send Justin Steele to the mound tonight in attempt to end this streak.

Steele has been pretty bad this season, holding a 1-5 record and an ERA of 4.79 through 11 starts. He hasn't picked up a victory in over two months and has had trouble with his command. He has walked seven batters in his last two starts.

The key to victory for the Cubs tonight is to get a quality start out of Justin Steele, because their bullpen has been mediocre this season. The sportsbooks seem to be overvaluing the Cubs a bit tonight.

Pick/Prediction: San Diego Padres ML (-125)

The Padres have their ace on the mound and are facing a team that has lost six straight games. Led by Manny Machado and Jake Cronenworth, the Padres offense is capable of roughing up Justin Steele. This value is too good to pass up. We're going with the Padres to take care of the Cubs on the road!