Phillies vs Cubs Pick: Scorching Chicago Hosts Spiraling Philly (Apr 25)

• For our Phillies vs Cubs pick, we analyze streaking Chicago hosting struggling Philadelphia
• The Cubs are 16-10 and just won 4 of 5 against two of the better teams in MLB, the Diamondbacks and Dodgers
• The Phillies have lost 4 straight, including a 3-game sweep at the hands of the hated Mets
• Colin Rea starts for the Cubs; Taijuan Walker takes the mound for the Phillies

Walker Hopes to Halt Philly’s Slide

The Phillies enter Chicago reeling from their 3-game sweep against the Mets. They lost two of the games with Cristopher Sanchez and Zack Wheeler starting. To make matters worse, Sanchez left his start with forearm soreness.

They are handing the ball to Walker to stop the skid.

The veteran has a 2.29 ERA in 4 starts this season. He has thrown 19.2 innings, surrendered 15 hits, and 5 earned runs. Though he has been vulnerable to the home run in the past, he has only allowed 2 homers this season.

Against Walker, the Cubs’ Vidal Brujan is 2 for 4 with a home run. Nico Hoerner is 3 for 9 with 2 doubles. Seiya Suzuki is 3 for 6 with 2 RBIs. Dansby Swanson is 4 for 15 with 2 doubles. Justin Turner is 5 for 17 with 2 doubles and a home run.

The Cubs Are Hitting Their Stride

Although the Cubs’ record of 16-10 is fifth best in the NL, they have had a nightmarish schedule playing the Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Padres, and Rangers. They came out the other side six games over .500. Now, they get a beaten-down Phillies team.

Colin Rea starts for the Cubs. His first 3 appearances of 2025 were as a reliever. He moved into the rotation and has thrown 8.1 innings and allowed 9 hits and 2 runs with 10 strikeouts and 1 walk.

Against the Phillies, Rea has handled Bryce Harper. The 2X MVP is 0 for 10 against Rea. Nick Castellanos is 2 for 9 with a home run. J.T. Realmuto is 3 for 8 with a home run. Kyle Schwarber is 3 for 7 with a home run.

The Cubs have been scoring plenty of runs, and they’ve done it with Swanson, Matt Shaw, and Turner batting below .200. Pete Crow-Armstrong has been a sparkplug offensively and a wonder defensively. Kyle Tucker has been everything the Cubs could have wanted when they traded for him. He has an OPS of 1.060, a league-leading 25 runs, a .314 batting average, and a .423 on-base percentage.

Phillies vs Cubs Pick: Chicago Keeps Philly Sputtering

The Cubs are playing extremely well, and the Phillies have been stumbling of late. Expect the Cubs to knock Walker around and for Rea to handle Philly for 4-5 innings before handing it to the bullpen.