Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA
Chicago Cubs vs Miami Marlins: Can the Marlins stop the bleeding?
The Chicago Cubs and the Miami Marlins are finishing their series tonight at LoanDepot Park.
Is it too late for the Cubs?
The Chicago Cubs are second in the NL Central with a 65-65 record, including 29-36 on the road. They have won the last three games including the last two in Miami. The Cubs have a 3.71 ERA, a .234 batting average, a .302 on-base percentage, and 1.23 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Nico Hoerner leads the team with 118 hits, Ian Happ is on top with 74 runs, and 23 home runs.
The Marlins are terrible lately
The Miami Marlins are at the bottom of the NL East with a 46-83 record, including 24-44 at home. They came into this series after being swept against the Diamondbacks and are currently on a five-game losing streak. Miami has a 4.69 ERA, a .253 batting average, a .331 on-base percentage, and 1.38 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Jake Burger is the best player on the team, with 101 hits, 55 runs, and 25 home runs for the season.
Betting Trends
The Cubs have been favorites in 60 games this season and won 31 of those contests. Chicago has a record of 15-1 in games when sportsbooks favor them by at least -169 on the moneyline. The Cubs have a 62.8% chance to win this game based on the implied probability of the moneyline. Cubs games have gone over the total in 58 of its 130 chances. The Cubs are 59-70 against the spread this season. The Marlins have won in 42 of the 113 contests they have been named as odds-on underdogs this year. Miami has come away with a win 20 times in 57 chances when named as an underdog of at least +141 or longer on the moneyline.
Prediction and Conclusion
The Chicago Cubs are second in their division and have reached the.500 mark, but still, that gives them only a 3.2% chance of making the playoffs. They have picked up their form lately and have dominated the series against the Marlins so far. The Cubs won the opener 6-3 and then exploded for a 14-2 win in the second game of the series. Today, they will go with Javier Assad on the mound, who is 6-3 for the season with a 3.11 ERA, 99 K, 113 IP, and 1.36 WHIP. The Marlins need to pick up their game, but they will start Adam Oller, who is only 0-1 for the season with a 9.64 ERA, 2 K, 4.2 IP, and 1.50 WHIP. Miami is just terrible lately, and the Cubs need this win, so we go with Chicago to sweep the series today.
