Chicago Cubs at Milwaukee Brewers Picks and Prediction for Sunday, June 28, 2026
Use Code WWWC American Family Field in Milwaukee hosts the NL Central rivalry series finale at 2:10 PM ET as the Chicago Cubs look to salvage the series against the Milwaukee Brewers (50-29), who enter with the second-best record in all of baseball. Milwaukee already holds a seven-game cushion over the Cubs and the rest of the NL Central, and the Brewers swept their rivals by outscoring the Cubs 19-5 across three games at Wrigley Field in May. Sunday's series finale pits a Cubs rotation in active crisis mode against one of the most effective returning starters in the National League. Read on to find out who takes the series finale in our Cubs vs. Brewers prediction. Don't go down on strikes! Get our top MLB Predictions and increase your bankroll!
Brewers Hand the Ball to Woodruff in His Third Start Back
Brandon Woodruff's return to the Brewers rotation came on June 22 against the Cincinnati Reds, his first big-league appearance since April 30 when shoulder inflammation sidelined him after his fastball velocity dropped alarmingly in a start against the Diamondbacks. The reinstatement could not have gone better. Woodruff tossed six shutout innings with 10 strikeouts in Cincinnati, did not allow his lone baserunner until a sixth-inning single, and in nearly every process-based sense, velocity, movement, and control, looked like his usual form. That was the version that pitched to a 3.20 ERA, 2.20 xERA, and 3.17 FIP last season.
The control improved throughout the outing, and so did the velocity. In the third inning, Woodruff started averaging over 92 mph, maxing out at 94.9 mph in the sixth. By the end of the night, his overall average fastball velocity of 91.9 was barely below his season average of 92.2. "I've always been a slow starter, but before surgery it's more of the 93, 94, and then it goes up. Now, it's a little less than that, and that's okay," he said. Before going on the injured list, Woodruff posted a 2.33 ERA over his final four pre-injury starts at the top of Milwaukee's rotation, and the Cincinnati performance suggests that version of Woodruff is back and available in Sunday's series finale.
Milwaukee's front office has built the deepest rotation in the NL Central around this core. Woodruff's return adds a third ace-quality arm to a group that was already operating at an elite level, and the Cubs, whose rotation is operating in triage mode, will face their stiffest test of the season.
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Cubs: Rotation in Crisis, Offense Has Been Carrying the Load
Chicago's rotation is in active limbo due to a series of injuries. Ben Brown and Edward Cabrera have both been placed on the injured list, and Craig Counsell has yet to determine who will start Sunday's series finale against Woodruff. The likely option is a bullpen game.
The silver lining for the Cubs is that their offense has carried them through the rotation chaos. Pete Crow-Armstrong has rallied from a slow start to lead the team with 17 home runs, 86 total hits, a .285 batting average, and a .886 OPS. Ian Happ has found his power stroke with 16 home runs, and Dansby Swanson leads the team in RBI with 46. Chicago's offense has been lighting up the scoreboard over recent weeks, scoring 87 runs in their last 12 games, 7.25 per game, and the Cubs have won nine of those 12.
The Cubs have combined with opponents to go over the total in 43 of their 80 games this season, an offensive identity that makes them dangerous regardless of the pitching matchup facing them. Michael Busch leads the Cubs with a team-best .368 on-base percentage, and the Cubs have won 50% of the games this season in which they entered as money-line underdogs.
Cubs vs. Brewers Picks
- Money Line Pick: Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers have been the preferred moneyline side, having attracted 87.2% of all bets and 90.8% of the money across this series. The logic is sound: Woodruff is returning to form at exactly the right moment, the Cubs cannot name a starter, and Milwaukee is playing at a home ballpark where they have built a 25-15 home record against a team they have swept twice in the last eight months. A healthy, velocity-restored Woodruff facing a bullpen game or an unannounced depth arm is the most favorable matchup context Brewers bettors will find on the Sunday slate. Take Milwaukee to win.
- Over/Under Pick: Under 8 Runs
Brewers pitchers have the best strikeout rate in baseball and have consistently driven games under their posted totals, with the league's lowest opponent miss rate creating a contact-management identity that keeps run totals compressed. Woodruff's return outing, six shutout innings, 10 strikeouts, one hit, was the blueprint for what Milwaukee expects from him on Sunday. Milwaukee has won 35 of its last 50 games and the Under is the preferred side across the Brewers' rotation, even against a Cubs lineup that has been productive lately, Woodruff's strike-zone dominance and the bullpen depth behind him keeps the scoring ceiling manageable. Take the Under 8 runs and back a controlled Milwaukee victory.
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