San Diego Padres vs. Chicago Cubs Predictions, Picks and MLB Preview – May 11, 2016

The Chicago Cubs moved 8.5 games clear at the top of the NL Central standings with a thrilling victory over the San Diego Padres on Tuesday. The Cubs will look to stretch that advantage even further when they take on the Padres in the third game of their four-game set this coming afternoon.

Who will emerge victorious in this National League matchup? Read on below for an in-depth breakdown of this clash and while you’re at it you can check out our preview of the game between the Kansas City Royals and the New York Yankees.

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San Diego Padres vs. Chicago Cubs Preview

Where: Wrigley Field, Chicago

When: Wednesday, May 11, 1:05 PM ET

Line: San Diego Padres (+200) at Chicago Cubs (-240) – view all MLB lines

Betting on the San Diego Padres (13-20)

The San Diego Padres stumbled to yet another defeat Tuesday with a gut-wrenching 8-7 loss to the Chicago Cubs. The Padres have now lost three consecutive games as they dropped further to the bottom of the NL West standings with a woeful 13-20 record.

The Padres will look to return to the win column when they face the Cubs in Game 3 of their four-game series this coming afternoon. Starting for San Diego in this ballgame is right-hander Colin Rea (3-1, 3.82 ERA). He is coming off the best start of his career, taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning in Tuesday’s win over the New York Mets. Rea surrendered just one run on three hits in eight-plus innings in the Padres’ 5-3 victory. He even helped his own cause by hitting an RBI single in that game against the Mets.

Rea can’t do it all alone, though, and he needs the San Diego offense to pick up the scoring slack as well. Expected to lead the Padres’ lineup tonight is Matt Kemp. He leads the team in homers (8) and RBIs this season. The superstar right fielder is 2-of-10 (.200) in his career against Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks with one homer and two RBIs.

The Padres are 2-8 in their last 10 road games. They are pegged at +3,000 to win the NL West division this year.

Betting on the Chicago Cubs (25-6)

The Chicago Cubs extended their winning streak to eight games with a nerve-wracking 8-7 victory over the San Diego Padres on Tuesday. It was a fantastic victory by the Cubs who improved to 25-6 this season, the best start in the majors in 32 years.

Key to their resurgence has been their improved starting pitching. Jon Lester was solid for the Cubs last night, pitching six innings of three-run ball. The Cubs will enter Wednesday with three starting pitchers posting an ERA below 2.00. Those three – Jake Arrieta (1.13), Jason Hammel (1.85) and Jon Lester (1.96) – are ranked among the top four ERAs in the National League.

The pressure now is on Kyle Hendricks (2-2, 3.10 ERA) to continue that great pitching run for the Cubs. He was superb in his last start against the Nationals, shutting them out over six innings on Thursday. Hendricks gave up just two hits and two walks while striking out four in a comprehensive 5-2 win against Washington. It’s the third time in his career that he’s given up two hits or fewer in six scoreless innings.

The 26-year-old has now allowed just one run in his last two starts. Hendricks will fancy his chances of extending that excellent form against San Diego as he has fared extremely well against the Padres in his career. He’s 2-0 with an 0.82 ERA in three career starts against the Padres.

Also working in his favor is Chicago’s red-hot offense. The Cubs lead the majors in runs (184) and RBIs (173) this season. One guy who’s doing well at the plate right now is Ben Zobrist. He went 4-of-4 in the win against San Diego, delivering run-scoring singles in the third and fourth innings against rookie Cesar Vargas last night. Zobrist is 11-of-22 in his last six games with four homers and 14 RBIs.

The Cubs are 8-2 in their last 10 home games. They are priced at +400 to end their World Series drought this year.

Writer’s Prediction

Chicago (-240) wins, 5-2.

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