Royals vs Cubs Prediction
The Kansas City Royals will play the Chicago Cubs in Game 1 of their series on Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. Chicago is tied for second in the NL Central race, but they are only a couple of games behind the Brewers. The Royals are one of the worst teams in the AL and they have really struggled on the road this year.
Royals Preview
The Kansas City Royals are 39-84 this season and they have lost nine of their last twelve games. Kansas City is coming off of a series loss to the Mariners, where they lost three out of four games. The Royals have one of the worst team ERA’s in baseball and have allowed six runs or more in five of their last six games. The Kansas City pitching staff has a 5.20 ERA, a 1.42 WHIP, and a .264 opponent batting average this season. The Royals offense has scored 494 runs with a .244 batting average and a .301 on base percentage. Bobby Witt is batting .276 with 23 home runs and 76 RBI’s for the Royals. The projected starting pitcher for Kansas City is Cole Ragans, who is 3-4 with a 4.21 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP over 47.0 innings pitched this year.
Cubs Preview
The Chicago Cubs are 62-58 this season and they have won three of their last five games. Chicago is coming off of a series split with the White Sox, where they lost one game and won one game. The Cubs are only .500 in their last eight games, but will be taking on a Royals team that is only 16-44 on the road. The Chicago pitching staff has a 4.18 ERA, a 1.28 WHIP, and a .245 opponent batting average. The Cubs offense has scored 604 runs with a .254 batting average and a .332 on base percentage this year. Cody Bellinger is batting .327 with 18 home runs and 59 RBI’s for the Cubs. The projected starting pitcher for Chicago is Jameson Taillon, who is 7-7 with a 5.71 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP over 104.0 innings pitched this season.
Big Bankroll Player? JOIN THE DIME CLUB!!!! Text 775-636-7676 or Call PickDawgz at 888-419-0435
Matchup/League Facts
The Kansas City Royals ranks 1st in the league for triples this season (32).
The Kansas City Royals ranks 4th in the league for steals this season (117).
The Chicago Cubs ranks 3rd in the league for walks this season (432).
The Chicago Cubs are one of only 3 teams in the league to rank top 10 in both steals and batting average this season.
Pick
The Royals are coming off of a wild series at home against Seattle, but they ended up losing three of the four games. Kansas City hit the ball well in the series, but their pitching staff was not good. Kansas City is starting Cole Ragans, who has allowed six earned runs over 22.2 innings of work for the Royals. Chicago is starting Jameson Taillon, who has allowed two earned runs or fewer in four of his last five starts, but did allow eight earned runs to Toronto last time out. I can’t trust the Royals on the road in this game, so I am taking the Cubs -1.5 here.
