The Cubs and Brewers take the field in Milwaukee tonight for Game 5 of their National League Division series with the winner earning the right to play for the National League pennant against the Dodgers.
Neither manager has released information as to who will start the pivotal Game 5 but lets review options and take an educated guess for each side.
Chicago’s options are Shota Imanaga, a bullpen game, or Cade Horton. All things being equal, the obvious choice would be Horton, but he has thrown only a handful of pitches since fracturing a rib. He is not ready to face live bats. If they choose the bullpen, all arms other than Horton and Matthew Boyd are available. If Craig Counsell is thinking of using Imanaga at all, it will more than likely be to start the game. No doubt Iamanaga’s issues this postseason – an 8.10 ERA with three homers allowed in 6.2 innings – are a cause for concern.
In the other dugout, Pat Murphy, has options but each also comes with question marks. The obvious choices are Jose Quintana, Quinn Priester, or a bullpen game. Priester was rocked earlier in the series lasting just two outs in the first inning. It would be a bold choice to give him the ball. The bullpen is always a possibility and like the Cubs almost every arm is available. The logical choice, though, is Quintana. The veteran has pitched in big games throughout his 14-year career including nine postseason games. Most recently, Quintana pitched five scoreless innings last year for the Mets in their winner-take-all Wild Card series Game 3 against the Brewers.
If Pat Murphy takes a detour away from these options, he could go with his flamethrower, Jacob Misiorowski. While the manager may feel taking the mound at the start may be too big for the rookie. That said, the manager without question will go to the rookie if need be out of the bullpen.
Lets dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch the first pitch, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game details & how to watch Cubs at Brewers – NLDS Game 5
- Date: Saturday, October 11, 2025
- Time: 8:08PM EST
- Site: American Family Field
- City: Milwaukee, WI
- Network/Streaming: TBS
Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.
Odds for the Cubs at the Brewers – NLDS Game 5
The latest odds as of Saturday courtesy of DraftKings:
- Moneyline: Cubs (+119), Brewers (-145)
- Spread: Brewers -1.5 (+142)
- Total: 7.5 runs
Probable starting pitchers for Cubs at Brewers
- Pitching matchup for October 11, 2025: Shota Imanaga vs. Jose Quintana
- Cubs: Shota Imanaga (Reg. Season: 9-8, 3.73 ERA)
Last outing: 10/6 at Milwaukee – 2.2 IP, 4ER, 5H, 0 BB, 3 Ks - Brewers: Jose Quintana (Reg. Season: 11-7, 3.96 ERA)
Last outing: 10/8 at Cubs – 3IP, 0ER, 2H, 1 BB, 2Ks
- Cubs: Shota Imanaga (Reg. Season: 9-8, 3.73 ERA)
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Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Cubs at Brewers – NLDS Game 5
- William Contreras is 5-12 (.417) with 3 HRs against Shota Imanaga in his career
- Jackson Chourio is 1-7 (.143) in his career against Imanaga
- Christian Yelich is 5-12 (.417) with 1 HR in his career against Imanaga
- Imanaga has allowed 12 HRs in his last 6 starts (34.2 innings).
- Dansby Swanson is 4-13 (.308) with 1 HR in his career against Jose Quintana
- Kyle Tucker is 2-8 (.250) with 1 HR in his career against Quintana
- Justin Turner is 7-25 (.280) with 5 RBIs in his career against Quintana
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
Expert picks & predictions for tonight’s NLDS Game 5 between the Cubs and the Brewers
Rotoworld Best Bet
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Saturday’s game between the Cubs and the Brewers:
- Moneyline: Rotoworld is staying away from a play on the Moneyline.
- Spread: Rotoworld is leaning towards a play ATS on the Chicago Cubs at +1.5.
- Total: Rotoworld is recommending a play on the over on the Game Total of 7.5.
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