The reigning World Champion Texas Rangers look to start the season 2-0 as they host the Chicago Cubs on Saturday and will look to their offense that led the league in runs per game at home last season to do something else damage.
Chicago Cubs vs. Texas Rangers (-125, 9)
The start on the mound for the Cubs goes to Kyle Hendricks, who posted a solid 3.74 ERA last season, but very much pitches to contact, getting just 6.1 strikeouts per nine innings in 2023.
While Hendricks was masterful at inducing soft contact last season with 0.7 home runs per nine innings allowed last season, he faces a Rangers lineup that does damage when they out the ball in play, with their nearly 1.8 home runs per game at home last season leading the American League while their .304 batting average on balls in play was fourth overall in Major League Baseball.
The Rangers will need to continue to generate high amounts of offense considering the Cubs were sixth in the league in runs per game last season with nearly 5.1 per game, which cooled down to closer to 4.8 runs per game on the road.
The Cubs have a golden opportunity to keep their offense going against Rangers starter Cody Bradford, who struggled to a 5.30 ERA with 1.8 home runs per nine innings allowed last season.
The advanced numbers show Bradford pitched better than his ERA would indicate, posting a 4.68 fielding independent with 8.2 strikeouts and 1.9 walks per nine innings, but struggled in a starting role.
In eight starts, Bradford had an ERA of 6.95 with 1.6 home runs and 2.9 walks per nine innings allowed while posting an ERA of 2.82 when coming out of the bullpen.
The Rangers back up Bradford with a bullpen that did get fortified in the offseason with the acquisitions of Kirby Yates and David Robertson, but was still 24th in the league in ERA a season ago with a 4.77 ERA.
With a pair of starting pitchers that give up a good amount of contact overall and two of the league’s top six run producing lineup from 2023, Saturday sets up for a hard hitting game in Arlington.
The Play: Cubs vs. Rangers Over 9 Runs
