T.M. Selection: San Diego Padres -1.5.

I like the San Diego Padres runline against the Chicago Cubs in this game on Thursday. The Padres have won 3 games in a row now, all 3 wins coming against the Cubs in this series, and I think they can win this game by 2+ runs to sweep the Cubs here. They have looked really good in this series, winning all 3 games against the Cubs by 2+ runs and their bats have been really hot in their 2 most recent games. They put up 12 runs and 19 runs in their previous 2 games and I don't see that stopping here. They were even down 4-2 early in the previous game but they turned it on in the 4th inning and there was no looking back from there as they continued to bring in the runs in every inning after that and ended the game scoring 19 runs to the 5 for the Cubs. The Cubs haven't looked good at all lately either, they have lost all 3 games in this series but they have also lost 9 games in a row now too. Their pitching has looked terrible in a ton of their games too, they have given up a ton of runs to the Padres here and they did the same in their previous series against the Yankees. Matt Swarmer (1-1, 4.24 ERA) is up for the Cubs here and he hasn't looked great this year. The pitching has already been bad for the Cubs lately and now they are going with this pitcher still in his rookie season who has only made 3 career starts and just gave up 6 runs in his most recent start to the Yankees. The Padres may not be as hot as the Yankees but their bats are just as hot at the moment and I think they pour the runs on in this game. Joe Musgrove (7-0, 1.50 ERA) is up for the Padres here and he has looked incredible all year. He hasn't had a start this year where he gave up more than 2 runs and I expect him to continue pitching the way he has been and help get another win for the team here. I expect the Padres to put up a ton of runs on the Cubs here while the Cubs struggle to bring in runs against Musgrove and the Padres here. I like the Padres runline in this game.

T.M. Prediction: 8-2 Padres.