Stan Szeto-USA TODAY SportsSipa USA
San Francisco Giants vs Chicago Cubs: Both teams gave losing records
The Chicago Cubs and the San Francisco Giants are starting a three-game series tonight at Wrigley Field.
The Giants need to pick up their game
The San Francisco Giants are fourth in the NL West with a 35-37 record. They are coming off a 13-6 win over the Los Angeles Angels after losing the previous two games of the series. San Francisco has a 4.38 ERA, a .253 batting average, a .323 on-base percentage, and 1.33 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Matt Chapman player on the team with 62 hits, 42 runs, and 8 home runs.
The Cubs are solid at home
The Chicago Cubs are at the bottom of the NL Central with a 34-38 record. They have lost three of the last four games and are coming off a 2-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cubs have a 3.85 ERA, a .237 batting average, a .308 on-base percentage, and 1.27 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Cody Bellinger leads the team with 61 hits, Mike Tauchman is on top with 38 runs, and Christopher Morel has 13 home runs.
Betting Trends
The Cubs are 5-1 SU in the last 6 games against the Giants, 3-7 SU in the last 10 games overall, 12-6 SU in the last 18 games against teams from the NL West and 2-4 SU in the last six games played on Monday. The Cubs have played under the total run line in their last nine games overall, in 8 of the last 10 games against the Giants, 5 of their last 6 home games against them and the last 6 games against teams from the NL. The Giants are 11-5 SU in the last 16 games against teams from the NL and 4-1 SU in their last 5 games against teams from the NL Central. They have played over the total run line in 10 of the last 14 games on the road.
Prediction and Conclusion
Both teams stand near the bottom of their divisions but are only a couple of wins away from getting as high as second place. They have been struggling lately and are entering the stage of the season that may turn out to be the breaking point. The Giants scored 13 points last night against the Angels and are hoping to bring some of that hitting form to Chicago. The Giants will start with Jordan Hicks on the mound, who is 4-3 for the season with a 3.01 ERA, 64 K, 71.2 IP, and 1.20 WHIP. On the other side, the Cubs will have Javier Assad, who is 4-2 for the season with a 2.81 ERA, 72 K, 73.2 IP, and 1.24 WHIP. Looking at the previous head-to-heads, 8 of the last 10 games between these two teams finished under the total run line, and given the fact that both teams will have quality pitchers tonight, we are going with under 9.5 runs in total.
