Arizona Diamondbacks (20-21) vs. Chicago Cubs (15-23)
May 21, 2022 2:20 pm EDT
The Line: Chicago Cubs -161 / Arizona Diamondbacks +120; Over/Under: +8
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The Arizona Diamondbacks and the Chicago Cubs meet Saturday in MLB action from Wrigley Field. This will be the third installment in a four-game series. The Diamondbacks won the opener Thursday, then in the Friday game Arizona kept it going with a four-run victory. Check back all season long for free MLB picks at Sports Chat Place.
Arizona posted six hits and two errors on the way to a 3-1 victory in the Thursday opener of this series. On Friday in game two, the Diamondbacks posted 12 hits in a 10-6 win. Starter Humberto Castellanos put up 5.1 innings with three earned on five hits and a walk.
Starter for the Diamondbacks on Saturday will be Madison Bumgarner. In his eight starts so far this year Bumgarner is 2-2 with a 2.29 ERA. Across 35.1 innings of work he’s got 28 hits, nine earned, 14 walks and 21 Ks.
Over on the Cubs’ side, they had just four hits in the Thursday opener and never held a lead in the game. On Friday Chicago had a solid offensive night at least, with eight hits in the loss. Kyle Hendricks had a rough start with 5.0 frames, seven earned, eight hits and two walks.
Justin Steele will take the mound for the start on Chicago’s side Saturday. In his seven starts so far this season Steele is 1-4 with a 4.50 ERA. Over 28.0 total innings Steele has put up 29 hits, 14 earned, 15 walks and 29 strikeouts.
The Diamondbacks are 7-3 in their last 10 Saturday games and 56-118 in their last 174 overall. Arizona is 20-63 in their last 83 road games.
Meanwhile, the Cubs are 14-37 in their last 51 at home and 3-11 in their last 14 versus a team with a losing record. Chicago is 2-5 in their last seven versus a lefty starter.
PICK: I’m going to stick with the Diamondbacks. Bumgarner didn’t have the greatest start his last time up; he took a loss to the Dodgers with 5.0 innings, three earned, six hits and two walks. That said, Bumgarner has done pretty well overall this year and should be able to control game three. As for Steele, he’s done fairly well over his last couple of outings but hasn’t gotten much in the way of offensive help. I don’t think he’ll get much here either.
