Chicago Cubs vs Kansas City Royals Betting Pick & Prediction 7/26/24
At 8:10 PM ET, the Cubs and Royals will square off in an interleague matchup. This one is being played at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, and the Royals are favored on the money line, with the odds sitting at -145. The money line odds for a Cubs win are at +123, and they are 5th in the NL Central, while the Royals are 3rd in the AL Central.
Chicago comes in with a record of 49-55, while the Royals are 56-47 overall. Kyle Hendricks will start for the Cubs, while the Royals are sending Brady Singer to the mound. BSKC will be televising this one.
KANSAS CITY ROYALS VS CHICAGO CUBS BETTING PICK
The Pick: Kansas City Royals Moneyline -145
This game will be played at Kauffman Stadium at 8:10 ET on Friday, July 26th.
HOW TO BET THE CUBS VS ROYALS:
- We have the Royals winning by a score of 6 to 5
- However, if you’re looking for a run line pick, we like the Cubs to cover
- As for an over/under pick, we have this game finishing with 11 runs and like the over
Cubs Records & Stats
Chicago is coming off a game in which they wasted several good performances. In their 3-2 loss to the Brewers, Justin Steele was solid on the mound, allowing just two runs on six hits and striking out four. However, the Cubs couldn’t get the win, and Héctor Neris took the loss out of the bullpen. The Cubs were also without a big game from Seiya Suzuki, who homered but went just 2/4.
Looking at the betting lines going into the game, the Cubs were the heavy favorite at -148. Things started off well for the Cubs, as they got on the board with a run in the 1st inning but gave up the lead right away as the Brewers scored in the top of the first.
Chicago will be on the road for today’s matchup vs. the Royals, and they are looking to get back to .500, as they are currently 49-55 overall. The Cubs are in 5th place in the NL Central, 11 games behind the Brewers for the division lead. So far, they have gone just 13-23 in divisional games.
The Cubs lost the final two games of their series vs. the Brewers, dropping the series 2-1. This year, the Cubs are 23-25 as the favorite and 26-30 as the underdog. As the road underdog, Chicago has gone 16-24 this season. They have an overall series record of 11-19-3 this year and have dropped two straight series.
The Cubs have been a solid run line bet on the road this season, going 31-21. They have covered the run line in two straight road games and have a run line record of 50-54 overall. The Cubs have been a better run line bet on the road than at home, where they are just 19-33.
Today’s over/under line of 9 runs is slightly higher than the Chicago Cubs’ season average of 8.2 runs per game. The Cubs have played to the under in 74% of their games this season, with a record of 43-57 on the over/under line. The under has hit in each of their last six games, and they have only played in 14.4% of games with an over/under line of 9 runs or higher.
Kyle Hendricks gets the start for the Cubs today as he faces the Royals on the road. This year, he has made 13 starts and is 2-8 with a 6.69 ERA. Looking at his home/road splits, Hendricks is 1-4 on the road with a 7.59 ERA compared to 1-4 at home with a 6.53 ERA. In his last outing, he gave up three earned runs in five innings of work, taking the loss. Before that, he had pitched seven scoreless innings and got the win. Hendricks has given up at least one homer in each of his last four outings.
So far this season, the Cubs have not been a strong offensive team, as they are just 24th in runs per game at 4.1. Not only are they near the bottom of the league in scoring, but they also have a team batting average of just .233 (18th) and are 20th in home runs. Chicago does have a good team walk rate and have the 5th fewest strikeouts in the league.
Christopher Morel has struggled this season for the Cubs, hitting just .199, and is batting only .200 over his last seven games. However, he does come into the game with two homers over this stretch. Ian Happ and Morel are the Cubs’ top home run hitters this season, but both players have had a rough stretch at the plate of late.
Royals Records & Stats
Led by a big game by Vinnie Pasquantino at the plate, the Royals are coming off a game in which they scored six runs on 12 hits. Pasquantino went 3/4 with two RBIs and a run scored. The Royals really broke things open with a three-run 4th inning but couldnjson’t hold the lead, and the Diamondbacks scored five runs in the top of the 9th to steal the win from the Royals. Kansas City was the -127 favorite at home going into the game.
Michael Wacha got the start for the Royals and took the loss. He only lasted 4 2/3 innings, giving up three earned runs on six hits. The Royals’s bullpen also struggled, as James McArthur took the loss out of the bullpen and the Royals allowed five runs in the top of the 9th.
Kansas City opens their series vs. the Cubs having dropped two straight games, and they are 3rd in the AL Central, 5.5 games behind the Guardians. So far, they have gone 19-10 in divisional games. This year, the Royals are 35-20 at home and 21-27 on the road.
As the favorite, the Royals have gone 30-17 this year, and they are 26-30 as the underdog. At home, they are 21-9 when favored. The team’s overall record is 56-47, and they lost two of three in their most recent series vs. the Diamondbacks.
The Royals have been a solid bet on the run line this season, going 59-44 overall. They’ve been especially good at home, where they are 33-22 against the run line. Their average run differential for the season is +0.7 runs per game. They have a run line losing streak of two games, and in those two games, they were favored. Overall, they are 25-22 against the run line as the favorite and 34-22 as the underdog.
The Royals have an over/under record of 42-58 this season, and their games have averaged 8.5 runs per game. When the over/under line is set at 9 runs, they have gone 7-9, and they have played a total of 15 games with an over/under line of 9 runs. Overall, 69.9% of their games have had lower over/under lines than 9 runs.
Brady Singer will be looking to build off his last outing, where he didn’t give up a run. Against the White Sox on July 20th, the right-hander pitched seven innings, picking up the win in the process. Looking at his overall numbers, Singer has made 20 starts and has a record of 6-6. His ERA for the season is 3.00, along with a WHIP of 1.22. Opposing batters are hitting .235 off Singer this year. In his 20 appearances, he has turned in eight quality starts and is averaging 8.59 strikeouts per nine innings. For the year, Singer has given up 13 homers. At home, his ERA is 2.54 compared to 4.49 on the road.
Heading into today’s game, the Royals are 11th in the league in scoring, averaging 4.6 runs per game. This number jumps to 5.2 runs per game when they are at home. Kansas City’s offense has been led by Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvador Perez, who are both in the top 11 in the league in home runs. Witt Jr. has been especially hot of late, going 21/39 in his last 10 games, with three homers and nine RBIs.
As a team, the Royals are the league’s best team at avoiding strikeouts and have the league’s top team batting average. However, they are just 23rd in walks and have a collective on-base percentage of just .309. Overall, they are 8th in the league in batting average.