Cleveland Guardians (70-49) vs Chicago Cubs (59-61)
Game Info: Wednesday, August 14, 2024 at 6:40 pm (Progressive Field)
The Line: Betting Odds: Cleveland Guardians -125 / Chicago Cubs +106 — Over/Under: 8
The Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Guardians meet Wednesday in MLB action from Progressive Field. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Chicago Cubs vs Cleveland Guardians Prediction.
Starting Pitching Matchup
The Chicago Cubs will start Jameson Taillon here and Taillon is 8-6 with a 3.50 ERA and 90 strikeouts this season. In his career, Taillon is 1-2 with a 4.71 ERA and 22 strikeouts against Cleveland. The Cleveland Guardians will start Alex Cobb here and Cobb is 0-1 with a 7.71 ERA and 1 strikeout this season. In his career, Cobb is 0-1 with a 1.50 ERA and 17 strikeouts against the Cubs.
Chicago Cubs Recap
The Chicago Cubs come into this one looking to salvage something from this series after dropping the first two games of the set thanks to a 2-1 loss in Tuesday’s matchup. The series loss for the Cubs means that their series win streak is over, which included wins over the White Sox, Twins and Cardinals all in the month of August.
Cubs Trying To Keep Around .500 And Stay In Playoff Hunt
Cody Bellinger has 99 hits including 16 doubles, 12 home runs and 45 RBIs. Nico Hoerner has 112 hits, 23 doubles and a .258 batting average. Michael Busch has 16 homers with 45 RBIs but has 130 strikeouts as well this season. Ian Happ also has a team-high 25 doubles with 20 home runs and 67 RBIs but also has 129 strikeouts this season. Seiya Suzuki’s also chipped in 16 homers and 55 RBIs this season.
Why the Chicago Cubs will win
- The Guardians have lost four of their last five games as favorites against NL Central opponents following a win.
- The underdogs have won four of the Guardians’ last five games.
- The Guardians have failed to cover the run line in each of their last 10 games as favorites against NL Central opponents following a win.
- The Cubs have covered the run line in each of their last seven games as underdogs following a road loss.
Cleveland Guardians Recap
The Cleveland Guardians will be out to complete the sweep of the Cubs after eking out the 2-1 win in Tuesday’s matchup. The win puts the Guardians in line for a win to build on their series split with the Twins this past weekend and pushed their win streak to five games.
Guardians Trying To Create Distance Atop AL Central
Jose Ramirez leads the Guardians with 131 hits as well as 31 home runs and 97 RBIs while Josh Naylor also has 26 home runs and 87 RBIs along with 18 doubles of his own. Ramirez has a team-high 27 doubles while Tyler Freeman has 14 doubles and Andres Gimenez has 47 RBIs with 19 stolen bases while the aforementioned Ramirez has a team-high 26 stolen bases on the year. Steven Kwan is also hitting .323 with 121 hits and 14 doubles this season.
Why the Cleveland Guardians will win
- The Guardians have won seven of their last eight night games against NL Central opponents that held a losing record.
- The Cubs have lost each of their last four games at Progressive Field.
- The Guardians have covered the run line in four of their last five games after playing the previous day.
Chicago Cubs vs Cleveland Guardians Prediction
I’m leaning towards the Guardians here. Sure, the Guardians have been fairly streaky in the second half, but right now they’re hot and we’re getting them at a reasonable price. The Guardians also have one of the best bullpen staffs in baseball so even if the starters cancel each other out, I trust the Guardians bullpen to close it out in the end and complete the sweep. Give me the Guardians in this one.