In the final matchup of today’s Sunday MLB slate, the San Francisco Giants will take on the Chicago Cubs. These two teams split the opening two matchups of the series. The Giants produced a commanding 18-3 win in the opener, but the Cubs got back in the win column with a 3-2 victory that took 10 innings yesterday.
Looking at the odds for the rubber match, the Cubs enter as -132 favorites and hold +163 odds on the -1.5 run line on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Giants hold +109 odds of pulling off the upset, with the game total set at eight runs.
Giants vs. Cubs prediction, preview
The San Francisco Giants enter with a 26-39 record on the season. Yesterday’s loss snapped a three-game winning streak for San Francisco, but they have lost eight of their last 12. On the season overall, the Giants are 29-36 to the run line, and the game-total is 32-28-5 to the over/under.
Trevor McDonald is scheduled to get the start for the Giants tonight. This will mark his seventh start of the season, and the 25-year-old is posting a 4.50 ERA, a 1.147 WHIP, and a 2-3 record. McDonald has pitched 34.0 innings this season, and allowed 30 hits, 17 earned runs, three home runs, and tallied 31 strikeouts. Michael Conforto is the lone member of the Cubs roster who has faced McDonald in his career and is 1-for-3 in these opportunities.
The Giants lead the MLB in hits, but rank 23rd in total runs, 17th in home runs, and have tallied the eighth-fewest strikeouts. Luis Arraez leads the team with 79 hits and is posting a .324 batting average on the season. Casey Schmitt provides a team-leading 15 home runs and 38 RBIs, while Willy Adames is the lone other player to have cracked double-digit home runs this season. Rafael Devers leads the MLB with 20 doubles, and adds eight home runs and 32 RBIs. Matt Chapman, Jung Hoo Lee, and Drew Gilbert also play notable roles.
The Chicago Cubs have had an up-and-down season, but hold a 34-31 overall record. They got off to a strong start to the year, going 27-11 out of the gates, but also suffered a 10-game losing streak and dropped 14 of 16 over a stretch. Chicago enters this matchup having lost four of its past six. On the season overall, the Cubs have gone 24-41 to the run line, and the game total is 36-28-1 to the over/under.
Jameson Taillon will be making his 13th start of the season for the Cubs. He enters with a 2-5 record, a 5.13 ERA, and a 1.260 WHIP. Taillon has thrown 66.2 innings this season, and allowed 63 hits, an MLB-worst 20 home runs, and recorded 57 strikeouts. He has faced off with this Giants roster in 65 at-bats in his career, and limited them to slash lines of .169/.225/.369. Rafael Devers has had the most success with four hits and a pair of home runs in 13 at-bats.
Chicago ranks 11th in total runs, 12th in hits, 17th in home runs, and 17th in strikeouts. Alex Bregman leads the team with 64 hits, along with five home runs and 19 RBIs. Nico Hoerner adds 63 hits, four home runs, and 33 RBIs. Ian Happ leads the team with 14 home runs and 34 RBIs, while Pete Crow-Armstrong is the lone other player with double-digit home runs by producing 11 long balls and 32 RBIs. Seiya Suzuki, Dansby Swanson, and Michael Busch also play key roles on the team.
Giants vs. Cubs pick, best bet
After starting the season red-hot, the Cubs have largely come back to reality. There have been some concerning stretches of play, and my lean is toward the Giants pulling off the upset to win this series matchup.
However, my best bet is for the game total to go over the eight-run game line. The Giants have been putting up runs at an impressive rate of late, and this is a matchup where they should be able to build off this. While they were limited to two runs yesterday, San Francisco put up 18 runs in the series opener. They also scored 12 runs against the Brewers in the game before this and put up 19 runs in a matchup with the Rockies in the series before this.
Jameson Taillon has fared well in this matchup in the past, but he has conceded 18 earned runs across his past four starts, with nine home runs allowed. He has not escaped a start without allowing an earned run since his season debut. The Giants have struggled with their home run production, but generate hits at a high rate, and have sluggers who have not played to their peak.
Trevor McDonald is more of a question mark on the mound, with just 52.0 innings pitched in his MLB career. He has allowed at least one earned run in every start this season, and has given up 12 earned runs across his past three starts. If he is to get chased early, the San Francisco bullpen is also posting an uninspiring 4.27 ERA collectively.
Even while their scoring production has slowed down compared to the start of the season, the game total has gone over in eight of the Cubs’ last 13 games. From San Francisco’s perspective, the game total has gone over in 14 of the last 20 Giants’ games. Expect the bats to come alive in today’s MLB finale and for the run line to be too low based on the context of this matchup.
Best bet: Game Total Over 8 (-105)
Tail it with me in the DKN Betting Group here!
