The Chicago Cubs and Miami Marlins will continue their three-game series with a Tuesday night matchup at LoanDepot Park in Miami. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our MLB odds series, which includes a Cubs-Marlins prediction and pick, laid out below.
Chicago enters the second game of this series with a 62-85 record, losers of three in a row. The playoffs have long been out of the picture for this club, possibly even before the season began. The trade deadline selling signaled the white flag had been waved on the 2022 season.
Miami is in a worse position than Chicago, with a 61-87 record good for fourth place in the NL East, ahead of only the lowly Washington Nationals. Yet again, Miami has failed to build on the momentum created after their postseason appearance in the shortened 2020 season.
Here are the Cubs-Marlins MLB betting odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Cubs-Marlins Odds
Chicago Cubs: +1.5 (-178)
Miami Marlins: -1.5 (+146)
Over: 7 (-105)
Under: 7 (-115)
Why The Cubs Could Cover The Spread
Chicago will send Adrian Sampson to the mound in this one. Sampson has enjoyed the best season of his young career, appearing in 17 games and making 15 starts, to a 3.48 ERA. Sampson has gone 2-5 while striking out 58 batters in 82.2 innings. In his last seven starts, Sampson has pitched to a 2.97 ERA in 33.1 innings. Batters have hit just .190 against Sampson's changeup, and he has walked only 6.7 percent of the batters he has faced this season. Chicago's bullpen has struggled, especially since the trading deadline. Brandon Hughes, a rookie lefty, has been the team's best reliever, with a 3.25 ERA in 52.2 innings, striking out 63 batters while holding opponents to a .194 batting average.
Ian Happ leads the team with 39 doubles and 68 RBI, slashing .273/.345/.453 with 17 home runs. Patrick Wisdom leads the team with 22 home runs, ranking second with 25 doubles and 59 RBI. Nico Hoerner has not played in almost ten days as he works his way back from a triceps issue but still leads the team with a .291 batting average and 18 stolen bases. Hoerner has also added 21 doubles, five triples, and nine home runs. Rookie Christopher Morel has played multiple positions and has hit in all of them, with 14 home runs, 16 doubles, and ten stolen bases. Seiya Suzuki has belted 13 home runs and 22 doubles, hitting .263 in his first season in the United States.
Why The Marlins Could Cover The Spread
Miami will send Pablo Lopez to the mound tonight. Lopez has gone 9-10 with a 3.99 ERA, striking out 156 in 160.1 innings across 29 starts. Lopez and Sandy Alcantara have combined to form a solid 1-2 punch at the top of the Marlins' rotation. For Lopez, the headliner is the changeup, which batters have hit just .212 against, striking out 67 times in 217 at-bats. Miami's bullpen ranks twentieth in the league with a 4.15 ERA, with 531 strikeouts in 507 innings. Steven Okert has a 2.50 ERA in 58 appearances, striking out 61 batters in 50.1 innings. Dylan Floro has pitched to a 3.45 ERA in 46 appearances. Huascar Brazoban, who made his MLB debut at 32 years old this season, has pitched to a 3.86 ERA with 35 strikeouts in 25.2 innings. Veteran Richard Bleier has been good as usual, with a 3.38 ERA in 49 appearances this season.
Miami's offense has been sapped of power with the losses of Jorge Soler and Jazz Chisholm and the release of Jesus Aguilar. Jesus Sanchez now leads all active Marlins with 12 home runs, with Bryan De La Cruz has hit 10 home runs. Garrett Cooper leads the team with 31 doubles, hitting nine home runs. Jon Berti leads all of baseball with 36 stolen bases, adding 15 doubles. Miami is second in the league with 116 stolen bases.
Final Cubs-Marlins Prediction & Pick
This should be a low-scoring affair, but advantage to Lopez.
Final Cubs-Marlins Prediction & Pick: Miami -1.5 (+146), under 7 (-115)
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