Minnesota Twins vs Chicago Cubs Betting Pick & Prediction 8/7/24
Wednesday’s interleague matchup between the Twins and Cubs is set for 2:20 PM ET from Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL. The Cubs are the slight money line underdog (+120), while the Twins have a line of -142. Javier Assad is starting for the Cubs, and the Twins are going with Joe Ryan.
Minnesota is currently 2nd in the AL Central with a record of 63-49, while the Cubs are 5th in the NL Central at 56-60. The over/under line for today’s game is at 7 runs, and the forecast in Chicago calls for clear skies and temperatures in the low 70s. MARQ will be televising this one.
CHICAGO CUBS VS MINNESOTA TWINS BETTING PICK
The Pick: Chicago Cubs Moneyline +120
This game will be played at Wrigley Field at 2:20 ET on Wednesday, August 7th.
HOW TO BET THE TWINS VS CUBS:
- We have the Cubs winning by a score of 5 to 4
- If you’re looking for a run line pick, we also 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 7-3 win over the Twins in the most recent game of this series. The Cubs had a huge 3rd inning, scoring three of their seven runs. As for the Twins, they scored their only three runs in the 4th. Heading into the game, the Cubs were favored at -109.
Shota Imanaga pitched well for the Cubs in this one, going seven innings and giving up just two hits and two earned runs. He finished the game with 10 strikeouts and got the win. On the other side, Pablo Lopez had a rough outing for the Twins, taking the loss after going five innings and giving up four earned runs on seven hits.
Offensively, the Cubs were led by Isaac Paredes and Dansby Swanson, who each had three RBIs. Nico Hoerner also had a two-hit game and scored twice for Chicago’s offense.
Twins Records & Stats
Minnesota is 63-49 overall and 2nd in the AL Central, four games behind the Guardians for the division lead. So far, they have gone 24-14 in divisional games. The Twins will be on the road today, taking on the Cubs, and they are 31-28 on the road this year.
The Twins have been really good as the favorite this year, going 51-28 and 25-11 as the favorite on the road. In their series with the Cubs, the Twins are 22-12-2 in series this year. They head into today’s game with an overall record of 6-4 in their last 10.
Minnesota has been a solid run line team this season, going 55-57 overall. They have been slightly better on the road, going 32-27 against the run line. The Twins have been a better bet as the underdog, going 17-16 vs. the run line. Their average run margin for the season is +0.5 runs per game.
The Twins are on the road today against the Cubs, with the over/under line set at 7 runs. Their games have averaged 9.3 runs per game this season, and their over/under record is 58-51. The average over/under line for their games is 8 runs, and when the line is set at 7 runs, their record is 4-4. Over the course of the season, 88.4% of their games have had higher over/under lines than 7 runs.
Through 22 starts, Joe Ryan has a record of 7-7 and an ERA of 3.59. His WHIP for the season is currently .99. Ryan most recently faced the White Sox, where he picked up the win. In that outing, he went 6 1/3 innings, giving up two earned runs on three hits. Looking back further, he had given up at least four earned runs in three straight starts before that outing. Ryan has made 13 quality starts this season and is averaging 9.81 strikeouts per nine innings. For the year, he has given up 18 homers. On the road, Ryan is 2-4 with a 3.46 ERA.
Minnesota’s offense has been one of the league’s best this season, averaging 4.9 runs per game, which is 5th in the MLB. They have been even better at home, putting up 5.1 runs per contest. Overall, the Twins are 8th in team batting average at .252 and have the league’s 5th best slugging percentage. Their team on-base percentage of .324 is also 6th in the league.
Over his last seven games, Royce Lewis has gone 6/24 with three homers and 11 RBIs. This has helped him move into 2nd on the team in home runs, with 14, and 9th in RBIs. Catcher Ryan Jeffers is leading the team with 52 RBIs and is also 15th in the league in home runs. Jeffers is batting just .229, but his on-base percentage is a solid .312.
Cubs Records & Stats
With a record of 56-60, the Cubs are 5th in the NL Central, trailing the Brewers by nine games. So far, they have gone just 17-26 in divisional matchups. The Cubs will be at home today, hosting the Twins, and they are 31-27 at home this season.
Chicago is 25-33 on the road this year. The Cubs have really struggled as the favorite this year, going 25-28, and they are 31-32 as the underdog. They have an overall series record of 13-20-3 this year.
When betting the run line on the Cubs, it’s been better to back them on the road, where they are 34-24 against the run line compared to just 22-36 at home. As the underdog, they are 42-21 against the run line, while as the favorite they are just 14-39. Their average run differential in wins is +3.4, while it’s -3.2 in losses.
Chicago Cubs games have had a combined run average of 8.4 this season, and their over/under record is 50-62. The average over/under line for their games is 8 runs, and when the line is set at 7 runs, their record is 4-5-1. The Cubs have had over/under lines set at 7 runs in 10.3% of their games this season.
Through 20 starts, Javier Assad has a record of 5-3 and an ERA of 3.19. He has made four quality starts this year and is coming off an outing in which he gave up just one earned run in four innings of work. In that outing, he gave up three hits, issued four walks, and allowed three homers. Assad has not taken a loss since June 30th. At home, he is 2-1 with a 2.31 ERA compared to 3-2 with a 4.57 ERA on the road. Overall, he has a BB/9 figure of 4.1 and a K/9 figure of 8.12.
Chicago’s offense has been very inconsistent this season, as they are just 19th in the league in runs per game at 4.2. This is a slight improvement from their home games, where they are averaging just 4.1 runs per game. The Cubs are also near the bottom of the league in batting average and slugging percentage.
Chicago’s top power threats are Isaac Paredes and Ian Happ, who are tied for the team lead with 17 homers. Happ’s 62 RBIs are the best mark on the team, while Paredes is 2nd at 59. Nico Hoerner has been swinging a hot bat of late, going 10/30 in his last seven games, but he has yet to go deep this season.