Two good starters face each other when the Cubs and Brewers meet on Friday. Both teams have struggled on offense, especially the Brewers at .176/.595 over the last two weeks. The Brewers lost big in their last two games and are just 8-13 in August. The Cubs are over .500 in August, and are hitting a little better than the Brew crew, although they have struggled against left-handed pitching.

Cubs' right-hander Steele hasn't had much success in the win column but he has been terrific elsewhere, with a paltry 1.45 ERA in his last 7 starts. He has thrown a pair of 6 inning shutouts in his last 2 appearances, one of which was against the Brewers.

Lefty Freddy Peralta is just 4 starts back from an extended stay on the IL, and each start has shown improvement. He held the Cubs to 2 runs over 6 innings in his last start.

The Cubs' bullpen owes Steele a good outing or two, the Brewers' pen is usually very dependable, and everyone has had a day off. The total is low but I expect this game to end even lower. Take the Under between the Cubs and Brewers. 9*!