The San Francisco Giants (35-37) travel to face off against the Chicago Cubs (34-38) on Monday, June 17th. This game will be played at Wrigley Field in Chicago and televised on NBCS. The Giants are coming off a win in their previous game, while the Cubs are looking to get back on track from a loss to the Cardinals. First pitch is set for 7:05 CT.
Giants vs Cubs
The Giants’s offense was hot right out of the gates in their most recent game vs. the Angels, closing out their series with a 13-6 win. After allowing one run to the Angels in the top of the first, the Giants responded with nine runs of their own. San Francisco went on to add another four runs in the 4th inning.
Spencer Bivens got the win out of the bullpen for the Giants, and San Francisco’s starter, Erik Miller, only went one inning, giving up two runs. The Giants really turned things in their favor with their nine-run 2nd inning, and the Angels could only score one more run the rest of the way. San Francisco’s -167 money line going into the game shows just how big of a favorite they were at home.
With an overall record of 35-37, the Giants are 4th in the NL West, 8.5 games behind the Dodgers for the division lead. San Francisco will be on the road today vs. the Cubs, and they are 2.5 games out of the NL Wild Card. So far, they are 13-13 in divisional games.
At home, the Giants have gone 20-17 this season, and they are just below .500 at 15-20 on the road. As the favorite, the Giants are 21-17 this year and 14-20 as the underdog. San Francisco’s overall series record is 12-9-2, and they dropped their most recent series vs. the Angels.
Despite a losing run differential on the road, the Giants have a winning run line record away from home this season at 19-16. They have been a better bet to cover the run line as the underdog, going 19-15, compared to 16-22 as the favorite. Their average run differential in wins is +3.4, while it’s -3.9 in losses.
San Francisco is on the road against the Cubs today, and the O/U line is set at 9.5 runs. The Giants’ combined run average this season is 9.1, and their O/U record is 38-32. Their games have averaged 8 runs per game, but only 1 of their games this season has had an O/U line of 9.5 runs. In fact, 95.8% of their games have had lower O/U lines than that.
Jordan Hicks Gets The Start For The Giants
Jordan Hicks gets the start for the Giants today as he faces the Cubs on the road. So far this season, he has made 14 starts and has a record of 4-3 with a 3.01 ERA. Looking at his overall numbers, opponents are batting .219 this season. Hicks has turned in three quality starts this year and is coming off a rough outing where he took the loss. Against the Astros, he went 4 2/3 innings, giving up three earned runs, and a homer. Before that, he had not allowed a homer in three straight outings. Per nine innings, Hicks is averaging 8.04 strikeouts and 3.01 walks.
Giants Offense Breakdown
Over the past nine games, Heliot Ramos has been red hot for the Giants, going 15/40 (.375) with three home runs and 11 RBIs. Ramos is hitting .326 for the season and has an OBP of .404. Ramos is tied for the team lead with eight homers, along with Matt Chapman, Jorge Soler, and Michael Conforto. Chapman and Soler are also batting under .240 for the season.
Overall, the Giants are 15th in scoring, averaging 4.4 runs per game. They are also among the league’s top home run-hitting teams, but their team batting average of .248 is just 10th in the league. San Francisco comes into the game with three of their hitters on three-game hitting streaks.
The Cubs will be looking to get back on track after closing out their series vs. the Cardinals with a 2-1 loss. This was especially tough, as they held a lead going into the 7th inning before the Cardinals scored a run to tie things up and added another in the 8th to take the lead. Chicago was the -131 favorite at home going into the game.
Offensively, the Cubs only had five hits but scored just one run. Their lone run came in the 3rd inning. Ian Happ was hot at the plate, going 2/3 with a double and a run scored. However, the Cubs couldn’t get much else going, and Happ’s teammates only had one RBI.
Chicago is 34-38 overall and 5th in the NL Central, trailing the Brewers by 8.5 games. The Cubs went 9-17 in divisional games this year. They kick off their series vs. the Giants, having lost three straight series, and their overall record over the last ten games is 3-7.
At home, the Cubs are 19-15 compared to 15-23 on the road. As the favorite, Chicago has gone 17-16 and 12-11 as the favorite at home. So far, the Cubs are 17-22 as the underdog this season.
Chicago’s run line record is 35-37, including 13-21 at home. The Cubs have a run differential of -0.2 runs per game, but they have a better run line record on the road (22-16) than at home. They are 26-13 vs. the run line as an underdog, but just 9-24 as a favorite.
The Chicago Cubs are playing at home against the San Francisco Giants today. The over/under line for the game is set at 9.5 runs, which is higher than their combined run average of 8.5. The Cubs have an over/under record of 30-39 on the season, and their games have had an average over/under line of 8 runs. When the line is set at 9.5 runs, the Cubs have a perfect 4-0 record on the over. Despite this, the under has hit in their last nine games.
Javier Assad Gets The Start For The Cubs
Through 14 starts, Javier Assad has a record of 4-2 and an ERA of 2.81 for the Cubs. He most recently faced the Rays, where he finished with a no-decision, giving up two earned runs in 4 2/3 innings of work. Looking back over his last four starts, Assad has finished with a no-decision in three of them. He has given up two earned runs in each of his last two outings. Opponents are batting .222 off Assad this season, and he has a total of three quality starts.
Cubs Offense Breakdown
Chicago’s offense comes into today’s game averaging 4.1 runs per game, which is 21st in the league. They are also near the bottom of the league in terms of team batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. The one area they have been good is in terms of drawing walks, as they are currently 5th in the MLB in that category. Cody Bellinger has been a bright spot for the Cubs this season, as he is batting .263 with nine homers and 32 RBIs.
Over his last 10 games, Bellinger has gone 12/42, while Christopher Morel has really struggled, going just 6/39 in that stretch. Morel is batting just .195 for the season but does have a team-high 13 homers and 40 RBIs. Morel is also on a five-game hitting streak.
Giants vs Cubs Prediction
We see the Giants taking this one on the road against the Cubs with a final score prediction of 5-4. Given that the Giants are the underdogs, we like them on the money line, where you can get them at +104.
Looking at the starting pitchers, we have Jordan Hicks finishing with five strikeouts, which would have him as the third-worst starter in terms of Ks. As for the Cubs’ starter, Javier Assad is projected to finish with five strikeouts, which would have him as the fifth-worst starter in terms of Ks.
All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!
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Last updated:June 17, 2024 Cubs, Giants