Chicago Cubs vs Kansas City Royals Betting Pick & Prediction 7/27/24
From Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, we have the Cubs and Royals facing off in an interleague matchup. The money line odds have the Cubs at +101 compared to the Royals at -120, and the over/under line is at 8 runs.
First pitch for Saturday’s matchup is set for 7:10 PM ET. BSKC will be televising this one, and the Royals are 3rd in the AL Central, while the Cubs are 5th in the NL Central. Seth Lugo is starting for the Royals, and the Cubs are sending Shota Imanaga to the mound.
KANSAS CITY ROYALS VS CHICAGO CUBS BETTING PICK
The Pick: Kansas City Royals Moneyline -120
This game will be played at Kauffman Stadium at 7:10 ET on Saturday, July 27th.
HOW TO BET THE CUBS VS ROYALS:
- We have the Royals winning by a score of 5 to 4
- If you’re looking for a run line pick, we also like the Royals to cover
- As for an over/under pick, we have this game finishing with 9 runs and like the over
Thanks to a six-run 5th inning for the Royals’ offense, they cruised to an easy 6-0 win over the Cubs in the most recent game of this series. Heading into the game, the Royals were favored at -156 on the money line.
The starting pitching matchup for this game featured Brady Singer for the Royals, and he went seven innings while giving up just two hits and no earned runs. Singer finished the game with five strikeouts but issued two walks. On the other side, Kyle Hendricks got the start for the Cubs, going five innings and giving up six runs on eight hits.
Kansas City got a huge performance from Salvador Perez, as he went 1/4 with a home run and three RBIs. Both Vinnie Pasquantino and Nick Loftin each had two hits and an RBI for the Royals’ offense.
Cubs Records & Stats
Chicago is on the road today, facing the Royals with an overall record of 49-56. The Cubs are looking to snap a three-game losing streak, and they dropped the first game of this series vs. the Royals. In the NL Central, the Cubs are in 5th place, 11 games behind the Brewers.
As the favorite, the Cubs are 23-25 this year and 26-31 as the underdog. Chicago has an overall series record of 11-19-3, and they have dropped two straight series. At home, the Cubs are 27-25 compared to 22-31 on the road. So far, they have gone just 3-7 in their last 10 games.
Chicago Cubs have a run line record of 50-55 this season, including 31-22 on the road. They are 37-20 against the run line as an underdog, but just 13-35 as the favorite. Their average run margin in winning games is +3.3, compared to -3.2 in losses.
Chicago Cubs games have had an average combined run total of 8.2 this season, and their over/under record is 43-58. When the O/U line has been set at 8 runs, the Cubs are 3-14-1. Overall, 50.5% of their games have had higher O/U lines than 8 runs, and their current under streak is at seven games.
Shota Imanaga gets the start for the Cubs today as he faces the Royals on the road. He has made 18 starts this season and has a record of 8-2 with an ERA of 2.86. Imanaga’s WHIP for the season is 1.07, and opponents are batting .231 this year. In his 18 appearances, he has turned in 12 quality starts. Imanaga’s last outing came on July 21st, where he finished with a no-decision, going seven innings and giving up one earned run on 10 hits. Before that, he had won two straight starts.
For the season, the Cubs are averaging 4 runs per game, which is 25th in the league. They have been slightly better on the road (4.1 RPG) than at home (4.0 RPG). As a team, the Cubs are batting just .232, which is 19th in the MLB, and their slugging percentage of .373 is also 19th. Chicago’s team OPS of .683 is 24th in the league.
Christopher Morel leads the Cubs with 18 home runs, but he is batting just .199 for the season. Ian Happ has also struggled with a batting average of .235 but does lead the team with 60 RBIs. Happ has gone just 3/24 in his last seven games and has just one home run over that stretch.
Royals Records & Stats
Kansas City is 57-47 overall and trail the Guardians by 5.5 games in the AL Central. So far, they have gone 19-10 against other teams in the division. The Royals are coming off a loss in the final game of their series vs. the Blue Jays.
At home, the Royals are 36-20 this year, and they are just above .500 at 21-27 on the road. As the home underdog, the Royals have gone 14-11 this year, and they are 26-30 as the underdog overall. Kansas City has dropped two straight as the underdog, and their series record is 15-17-1 this year.
When the Royals win, they do so by an average of 3.9 runs per game, which is why they have a run line record of 60-44 this season. They are 34-22 against the run line at home, where they have a scoring margin of 1.3 runs per game.
Today’s over/under line for the Kansas City Royals’ game against the Chicago Cubs is set at 8 runs. The Royals have played 61 games this season with over/under lines set higher than 8 runs, which accounts for 58.7% of their games. Their combined run average this season is 8.5 runs per game, and their over/under record is 42-59 overall. When the over/under line is set at 8 runs, their record is 10-10-2.
Seth Lugo has been pitching well for the Royals, coming into the game with a record of 12-4 and an ERA of 2.38. In his 21 starts, he has a WHIP of 1.04 and has turned in 16 quality starts. Lugo’s most recent outing was a gem, as he went nine innings and gave up just one earned run. He finished with six strikeouts in that outing. Before that, he had taken the loss in two straight starts. Lugo has been much better at home, going 5-2 with a 2.31 ERA compared to 7-2 with a 2.76 ERA on the road.
So far this season, the Royals are averaging 4.6 runs per game, which is 11th in the league. They have been a better offensive team at home, averaging 5.2 runs per game, which is the 2nd best mark in the league. As a team, they are batting .251, which is the 6th best mark in the league, and are the toughest team in the league to strike out. Kansas City’s home run numbers are just 17th in the league, and their team OBP of .309 is 16th in the league.
Both Salvador Perez and Bobby Witt Jr. have been swinging the bat well of late, with Witt Jr. going 18/35 in his last nine games, including two homers, and Perez has three homers in this stretch. Perez is also on a four-game hitting streak, while Witt Jr. has an eight-game streak going.