One of the hottest teams in baseball, the Chicago Cubs, host the Kansas City Royals today. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with a Royals-Cubs prediction, pick, and how to watch.

The Royals come in after losing three of four to the Mariners in their series this week. It was not the offense that was an issue in the series. The Royals scored 24 runs in the four games, but the pitching let them down. The Royals' pitching allowed 28 runs in the series, and Julio Rodriguez torched them. He went 12-21 in the series, hitting a home run, and three doubles, while driving in 11 runs and stealing two bases. The Royals are well out of the playoff race at 39-84 on the season.

Meanwhile, the Cubs split two games with the White Sox and have won six of their last ten games. Since the All-Star break, the Cubs have scored the second most runs per game, just behind the Braves. Meanwhile, they are 20-11 since the break, giving them the third-best record since then. The Cubs are now 62-58 on the season, which places them in a tie for second in the NL Central, just two games back from the Brewers division.

Here are the Royals-Cubs MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

MLB Odds: Royals-Cubs Odds:

Kansas City Royals: +1.5 (-134)

Chicago Cubs: -1.5 (+112)

Over: 8.5 (-115)

Under: 8.5 (-105)

How To Watch Royals vs. Cubs

TV: BSKC/MARQ

Stream: MLB.TV

Time: 2:20 PM ET/ 11:20 AM PT

*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why The Royals Could Cover The Spread

The Royals' offense has been solid as of late. they have scored four or more runs in each of their last six games. On the season they are sitting 27th in the majors in runs scored, while sitting 19th in batting average, 28th in on-base percentage, and 23rd in slugging. Salvador Perez has been a huge part of the Royals' scoring runs as of late. He has nine RBIs in the last week while he has hit two home runs and s double. He is hitting .476 over the last week while also scoring four times.

Bobby Witt Jr., the team leader in batting average, home runs, and RBIs, has been scoring a lot as of late. While hitting .407 and getting on base at a .429 clip, he has scored eight times in the last week. Meanwhile, he has three doubles and three home runs to give him eight RBIs in the last week. He is joined by Nelson Velazquez in having great production. Velazquez has scored six times in the last week while hitting .348 in the last week. He has four home runs in his last six games while driving in five runs as well.

Cole Ragans will be on the mound today for the Royals. He is 3-4 on the season with a 4.21 ERA. The Royals acquired Ragans from the Rangers in July. Since then, he has pitched 22.2 innings and given up seven runs with six earned. That is good for a 2.38 ERA in those starts. Still, he won just once, as the Royals struggled to score in two of the starts. Ragans may not have the best starts on the outside, but he is in the top percentiles in walk percentage, allowing hard-hit balls, and average exit velocity. That keeps the ball in the yard and allows him to work out of jams. If he continues to pitch as he has and the Royals' offense produces, they could be in for a good day.

Why The Cubs Could Cover The Spread

The Cub's hot hitting is a big reason for their recent surge. They are now fifth in the majors in runs scored this year, while sitting tenth in batting average, fifth in on-base percentage, and tenth in slugging. Christopher Morel was the hero for the Cubs in their last game, and hopefully, that is a sign of things to come for him. He hit a home run in that game, and it is his only home run in the last week. Over the last week, Morel is hitting just .150 with four RBIs and a run scored.

Still, the Cubs have some guys coming into this game producing a lot, even if they are not hitting well. Dansby Swanson is a perfect example of that. In the last week, he has a double and a home run which has led to five RBIs. Meanwhile, he has also scored four times. He is hitting just .176 over the last week though but does have a .300 on-base percentage. Cody Bellinger is hitting better than the rest at .333 in the last week while getting on base at a .400 clip. He also has three RBIs in the last week, while hitting a home run and two doubles. Bellinger also has scored four times in the last week.

It will be James Tallion on the hill for the Cubs today. He is 7-7 with a 5.71 ERA for the season. This month has not gone as planned for him. Last time out he gave up eight runs in just three innings of work. So far this month he has pitched just 15 innings, giving up 12 runs and a home run in each start. He has a 7.20 ERA this month. Still, Tallion has eight starts this year in which has given up two or fewer runs while pitching more than five innings. When he gets through the first inning, he settles in and is a top-quality pitcher.

Final Royals-Cubs Prediction & Pick

The pitching edge is fairly neutral in this game. The Royals have a pitcher who has not been great this year, but good as of late. Meanwhile, the Cubs send someone to the mound who has not pitched well as of late but has been good this year. Both offenses have been solid as of late. The Cubs are scoring 6.26 runs per game since the break, which is second in the majors. Meanwhile, the Royals are scoring 4.94 runs per game since the break, tenth in the majors. They both also gave up a lot of runs. Both teams are giving up over five runs per game since the All-Star break. The Cubs should win this one but expect runs to be scored.

Final Royals-Cubs Prediction & Pick: Cubs -1.5 (+112) and Over 8.5 (-115)