Chicago Cubs vs Kansas City Royals Betting Pick & Prediction 7/28/24
At 2:10 PM ET, the Cubs and Royals face off in an interleague matchup. This one is being played at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, and the Royals are the heavy favorites on the money line, with their odds sitting at -171. The money line odds for a Cubs win are at +145, and the over/under line is currently 8.5 runs.
Chicago comes in with a record of 50-56 and is 5th in the NL Central, while the Royals are 3rd in the AL Central with an overall record of 57-48. Cole Ragans will start for the Royals, while the Cubs are sending Javier Assad to the mound. BSKC is carrying this one on TV.
KANSAS CITY ROYALS VS CHICAGO CUBS BETTING PICK
The Pick: Kansas City Royals Moneyline -171
This game will be played at Kauffman Stadium at 2:10 ET on Sunday, July 28th.
HOW TO BET THE CUBS VS ROYALS:
- We have the Royals winning by a score of 5 to 4
- 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 9 runs and like the over
Chicago cruised to a 9-4 win over the Royals in the most recent game of this series. The Cubs had a huge 1st inning, scoring two of their nine runs. As for the Royals, they scored their first run in the 2nd and added their final three runs in the 6th.
Shota Imanaga only went 5 2/3 innings for the Cubs but gave up just three hits and three earned runs. He finished the game with three strikeouts but didn’t issue a walk. Julian Merryweather got the win out of the bullpen. As for the Royals, Seth Lugo got the start and took the loss, giving up six runs in 6 1/3 innings of work.
At the plate, the Cubs were led by Seiya Suzuki and Patrick Wisdom. Suzuki went 2/4 with a home run, while Wisdom also homered and went 1/1. Mike Tauchman had a two-hit game and scored two runs for Chicago’s offense.
Cubs Records & Stats
With a record of 50-56, the Cubs are 5th in the NL Central and trail the Brewers by 10 games. So far this season, they have gone just 13-23 against other teams in the NL Central. The Cubs are on the road today, and they are 23-31 on the road compared to 27-25 at home.
Chicago has dropped two straight series and are 11-19-3 in series overall this year. As the road underdog, the Cubs are 17-25 this year and 27-31 overall as the underdog. They have also gone 23-25 as the favorite this year.
Chicago has been a good bet on the run line on the road this season, going 32-22, but they have struggled at home, going 19-33. They have been a good bet as the underdog, going 38-20, but have struggled as the favorite, going 13-35. Their average run margin is -0.1 runs per game, and they have been outscored by 0.5 runs per game on the road.
Chicago Cubs games have gone over the total 44 times and under 58 times this season. The average over/under line for Cubs games is 8 runs, but today’s line is set at 8.5. When the line is set at 8.5 runs, the over has hit in 12 of the 25 games. The Cubs and their opponents have combined to score an average of 8.3 runs per game this season.
Right-hander Javier Assad 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 4-3 with a 3.15 ERA. Opposing batters are hitting .240 this season off Assad, and he has a WHIP of 1.38. In his 18 starts, Assad has turned in three quality starts and is averaging 8.22 strikeouts per nine innings. Most recently, he finished with a no-decision against the Brewers, going 3 1/3 innings and not giving up a run. Before that, he had given up at least three earned runs in three straight outings.
Chicago’s offense is averaging just 4.1 runs per game this season, which is 24th in the league. They have been even worse at home, putting up just 4 runs per contest. The Cubs are also near the bottom of the league in slugging percentage, OPS, and isolated power. As a team, they are batting .232, which is 18th in the league.
Christopher Morel is one of the Cubs’ top power threats, as his 18 homers is 14th in the league. However, he is batting just .199 for the season. Ian Happ has been the team’s best run producer, as his 60 RBIs is the best mark on the team and 15th in the league. Over his last six games, Seiya Suzuki has gone 8/23 with two homers.
Royals Records & Stats
Kansas City is 57-48 overall and trail the Guardians by 5.5 games in the AL Central. So far, they have gone 19-10 in divisional games. The Royals are at home today, and they are 36-21 at home this season.
The Royals have been good as the favorite this year, going 31-18, and they are 26-30 as the underdog. So far, their overall series record is 15-17-1. Kansas City is 5-5 across their last 10 games and are currently tied in their series vs. the Cubs.
When the Royals win, they do so by an average of 3.9 runs per game, which has helped them to a 60-45 run line record on the season. They have been especially good against the run line as an underdog, going 34-22. Their overall run differential is +0.7 runs per game, but they have been even better at home with a +1.2 run differential, going 34-23 against the run line.
When the Kansas City Royals play at home, the over/under line has been set at 8.5 runs for 32 of their games this season, accounting for 30.5% of their contests. Their games have averaged 8.6 runs per game, and their over/under record for the season is 43-59. Their games have had an average over/under line of 8 runs, and their over/under record when the line is set at 8.5 runs is 10-19.
Cole Ragans gets the start for the Royals today vs. the Cubs and is coming off a solid outing vs. the Diamondbacks. In that July 22nd start, he went 6 innings, giving up 3 earned runs, and got the win. Looking back further, Ragans has been pitching well, as he has a record of 7-6 and an ERA of 3.23. Opponents have a batting average of .214 vs. Ragans this year. The left-hander has made 21 starts, and opponents have hit 9 homers off him this year. Ragans has one complete game and 15 quality starts this year.
So far this season, the Royals offense has been one of the league’s best, averaging 4.6 runs per game and batting a collective .251, which is the 6th best mark in the league. Kansas City is also the toughest team to strike out in the league and has the league’s 2nd best home batting average at 5.2 runs per game. Overall, they are 17th in home runs and have a collective on-base percentage of .309.
Salvador Perez and Bobby Witt Jr. have been the team’s top power threats this season, with Perez leading the team with 19 homers and Witt Jr. right behind him at 18. Witt Jr. comes into the game on a nine-game hitting streak and is batting .342 for the season. Over his last seven games, he is 15/28 with a homer and six RBIs. Perez has also gone deep twice in his last seven games, going 7/28 over that stretch.