FOX will host Saturday’s matchup between the Cleveland Guardians and Chicago Cubs, with first pitch set for 7:15 p.m. ET. The game will take place at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. Promising rookie Tanner Bibee (4-2, 3.79 ERA) gets the ball for Cleveland, while Marcus Stroman (9-5, 2.47) is feeling good enough to go for the Cubs after being pulled from his last start with a blister issue on his throwing hand.
The Guardians enter Saturday having lost two in a row in what’s been a frustrating year for last season’s AL Central champs. Cleveland sits at 39-42, although that’s still good enough to be just a game out of first in a weak division. Pitching, as always, has been a strength for this team, with Bibee leading a group of top prospects including Logan Allen and Gavin Williams that have bolstered the Guardians rotation despite losing Triston McKenzie to injury. Whereas last year’s offense manufactured just enough runs to survive, however, this year the bottom has fallen out, as Cleveland sits in the bottom five in team OPS with just two players (Jose Ramirez, Josh Naylor) with an OPS above league average.
The Cubs have been among baseball’s streakiest teams, from a red-hot start to a swoon in May to winning nine of 10 in mid-June to dropping four in a row to close the month. A big 10-1 win on Friday snapped that skid, and Chicago will be looking for more consistency in July — especially from an offense that some days looks like world-beaters and others looks dormant. They’ll also need more rotation depth from somewhere, as there’s not much help behind Stroman and Justin Steele especially given Drew Smyly’s recent regression. This team certainly has enough talent to make noise in a weak NL Central — Dansby Swanson, Ian Happ, Nico Hoerner, Cody Bellinger and Christopher Morel form a potent heart of the order — but they’ve yet to put it all together.
Chicago enters as the -135 favorite on the moneyline at DraftKings Sportsbook, while the Guardians are +115 underdogs. The run total is set at 8.
Guardians vs. Cubs
Pitchers: Tanner Bibee vs. Marcus Stroman
First pitch: 7:15 p.m. ET
Guardians local broadcast: N/A
Cubs local broadcast: N/A
Live stream: FOX Live, FOX Sports App
Moneyline odds: Cubs -135, Guardians +115
You can live stream the game at Fox Sports Live or through the FOX Sports App. It will require a cable login with access to FOX. If you don’t have a cable login for the FOX Sports App, you can get a free trial from YouTube TV, Hulu with Live TV, AT&T TV Now, FuboTV, or Sling TV to stream the game.
