The Chicago Cubs will play the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 2 of their series on Saturday night at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. Arizona won the first game in this series by a score of 6-4 on Friday night and they are currently tied with the Reds for the last NL Wild Card spot.
Cubs Preview
The Chicago Cubs are 78-70 this season and they have lost six of their last eight games. Prior to this series, Chicago lost two out of three games on the road against the Rockies. The Cubs have allowed 19 runs in their last three games and they are only up 1.5 games for the second Wild Card spot in the NL. The Chicago pitching staff has a 4.05 ERA, a 1.27 WHIP, and a .244 opponent batting average this year. The Cubs offense has scored 741 runs with a .254 batting average and a .328 on base percentage. Cody Bellinger is batting .315 with 25 home runs and 90 RBI’s for the Cubs. The projected starting pitcher for Chicago is Kyle Hendricks, who is 6-7 with a 3.71 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP over 121.1 innings pitched this season.
Diamondbacks Preview
The Arizona Diamondbacks are 77-72 this season and they have lost three of their last four games. Arizona came into this series after losing three out of four games to the Mets. The Diamondbacks have allowed 29 runs in their last four games and they are currently tied for the last NL Wild Card spot. The Arizona pitching staff has a 4.61 ERA, a 1.34 WHIP, and a .253 opponent batting average. The Diamondbacks offense has scored 685 runs with a .251 batting average and a .322 on base percentage this season. Corbin Carroll is batting .279 with 24 home runs and 69 RBI’s for the Diamondbacks this year. The projected starting pitcher for Arizona is Zach Davies, who is 2-5 with a 6.81 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP over 75.1 innings pitched this year.
Arizona Diamondbacks Team Facts
- The underdogs have won four of the last five games between the Cubs and Diamondbacks at Chase Field.
- The Diamondbacks have failed to cover the run line in each of their last six games against the Cubs at Chase Field following a home win.
- The Diamondbacks have led after 7 innings in each of their last five night games against NL Central opponents.
- The Diamondbacks have led after 3 innings in each of their last four night games against opponents that held a winning record.
- The Diamondbacks have led after 5 innings in each of their last four games at Chase Field against National League opponents that held a winning record.
Chicago Cubs Team Facts
- The Cubs have lost each of their last three games as favorites.
- The Cubs have failed to cover the run line in eight of their last nine night games against National League opponents.
- The Cubs have trailed after 5 innings in four of their last five games as road favorites.
- The Cubs have trailed after 7 innings in each of their last four games as road favorites against NL West opponents.
Chicago Cubs Player Prop Facts
- Cody Bellinger ranks 6th amongst qualified players for Batting Average (.315) this season.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Arizona Diamondbacks rank 4th in the league for strikeouts against this season (1161).
- The Arizona Diamondbacks rank 22nd in the league for ERA this season (4.61).
- The Chicago Cubs rank T7th in the league for triples this season (26).
- The Chicago Cubs rank 7th in the league for RBI's this season (714).
Pick
This is a huge series in the NL Wild Card race and Arizona was able to start with a nice win in Game 1. Arizona is tied for the last Wild Card spot, but they only trail Chicago by 1.5 games for the second spot. Arizona is starting Zach Davies, who has allowed eight earned runs in his last seven innings of work. Chicago is starting Kyle Hendricks, who has allowed two earned runs or fewer in four of his last five starts. Hendricks pitched well against Arizona in his last start and I like the Cubs to get the win here.