Chicago Cubs (62-58) vs Kansas City Royals (39-84)
Game Info: Friday, August 18, 2023 at 2:20 pm (Wrigley Field)
Jameson Taillon (7-7) (5.71) vs Cole Ragans (3-4) (4.21)
Betting Odds: Chicago Cubs -180 / Kansas City Royals +150 --- Over/Under: 8.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The Kansas City Royals will play the Chicago Cubs in Game 1 of their series on Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. Chicago is tied for second in the NL Central race, but they are only a couple of games behind the Brewers. The Royals are one of the worst teams in the AL and they have really struggled on the road this year.
Royals Preview
The Kansas City Royals are 39-84 this season and they have lost nine of their last twelve games. Kansas City is coming off of a series loss to the Mariners, where they lost three out of four games. The Royals have one of the worst team ERA’s in baseball and have allowed six runs or more in five of their last six games. The Kansas City pitching staff has a 5.20 ERA, a 1.42 WHIP, and a .264 opponent batting average this season. The Royals offense has scored 494 runs with a .244 batting average and a .301 on base percentage. Bobby Witt is batting .276 with 23 home runs and 76 RBI’s for the Royals. The projected starting pitcher for Kansas City is Cole Ragans, who is 3-4 with a 4.21 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP over 47.0 innings pitched this year.
Cubs Preview
The Chicago Cubs are 62-58 this season and they have won three of their last five games. Chicago is coming off of a series split with the White Sox, where they lost one game and won one game. The Cubs are only .500 in their last eight games, but will be taking on a Royals team that is only 16-44 on the road. The Chicago pitching staff has a 4.18 ERA, a 1.28 WHIP, and a .245 opponent batting average. The Cubs offense has scored 604 runs with a .254 batting average and a .332 on base percentage this year. Cody Bellinger is batting .327 with 18 home runs and 59 RBI’s for the Cubs. The projected starting pitcher for Chicago is Jameson Taillon, who is 7-7 with a 5.71 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP over 104.0 innings pitched this season.
Chicago Cubs Team Facts
- The Cubs have lost each of their last six day games against AL Central opponents following a win.
- The Cubs have failed to cover the run line in each of their last six games as home favorites against AL Central opponents following a win.
- The Cubs have trailed after 3 innings in three of their last four games as home favorites against AL Central opponents.
- The Cubs have trailed after 7 innings in each of their last four games as home favorites against AL Central opponents.
- The Cubs have trailed after 5 innings in six of their last eight games as home favorites against AL Central opponents.
Kansas City Royals Team Facts
- The Royals have lost nine of their last 10 games against NL Central opponents that held a winning record.
- The Royals have failed to cover the run line in each of their last six day games following a loss.
- The Royals have trailed after 3 innings in each of their last four day games against NL Central opponents that held a winning record.
- The 'Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs' market has hit in each of the Royals' last four games as road underdogs.
- The Royals have led after 7 innings in each of their last four games against the Cubs.
Chicago Cubs Player Prop Facts
- Patrick Wisdom has hit a home run in three of his last five appearances with the Cubs as home favorites.
- Seiya Suzuki has recorded at least one RBI in four of his last five appearances with the Cubs as favorites.
- Cody Bellinger has recorded two or more total bases in each of his last six Friday appearances at Wrigley Field.
- Jeimer Candelario has scored at least one run in six of his last seven home appearances after not playing the previous day.
- Jameson Taillon has recorded five or more strikeouts in four of his last five home appearances against opponents that held a losing record.
- Cody Bellinger has recorded at least one hit in 12 of his last 13 appearances at Wrigley Field against opponents that held a losing record.
- Nico Hoerner ranks T6th in the league in Steals (30) this season.
Kansas City Royals Player Prop Facts
- Salvador Perez has hit at least one home run in three of his last four road appearances against NL Central opponents that held a winning record.
- Matt Duffy has scored a run in four of his last five appearances at Wrigley Field.
- Bobby Witt Jr. has recorded at least one RBI in 10 of his last 11 appearances with the Royals as underdogs against NL opponents.
- Bobby Witt Jr. has recorded three or more total bases in each of the Royals' last four games as underdogs against NL Central opponents.
- Matt Duffy has recorded at least one hit in each of his last six appearances at Wrigley Field.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Chicago Cubs ranks 5th in the league for runs scored this season (604).
- The Chicago Cubs ranks 5th in the league for RBI's this season (580).
- The Kansas City Royals ranks 28th in the league for on-base percentage this season (.301).
- The Kansas City Royals ranks 28th in the league for ERA this season (5.21).
Pick
The Royals are coming off of a wild series at home against Seattle, but they ended up losing three of the four games. Kansas City hit the ball well in the series, but their pitching staff was not good. Kansas City is starting Cole Ragans, who has allowed six earned runs over 22.2 innings of work for the Royals. Chicago is starting Jameson Taillon, who has allowed two earned runs or fewer in four of his last five starts, but did allow eight earned runs to Toronto last time out. I can’t trust the Royals on the road in this game, so I am taking the Cubs -1.5 here.
David’s Pick Cubs -1.5
AUTHOR: David Racey
Mitch's Take...
