The Colorado Rockies and the Chicago Cubs meet Monday in MLB action from Wrigley Field. Here’s a Rockies vs Cubs prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for the game. We will examine:
- The Colorado Rockies recent form and player performance
- The Chicago Cubs recent form and player performance
- Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Colorado Rockies
- Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Chicago Cubs
- Recent betting trends in games played between the Rockies and Cubs
- A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Rockies vs Cubs game
Colorado Rockies Betting Preview
The Rockies took on the Diamondbacks in their first series of 2024. Colorado lost the first pair by a combined 23-4 score, but bounced back for a 9-4 win Saturday. In the finale the Rockies took another loss, this time 5-1. The lone RBI went to Jacob Stallings, and starter Ryan Feltner put up 5.0 innings with three earned.
As the starting pitcher for the Monday opener, the Rockies will send out Dakota Hudson. Over his 18 games (12 starts) last year Hudson posted a 6-3 record with a 4.98 ERA and 45 Ks in 81.1 innings. Hudson has a career record of 38-20 with a 3.84 ERA in 114 games (74 starts).
Chicago Cubs Betting Preview
Over on the Cubs’ side, they had a little trouble with the Rangers in their first two games with losses 4-3 and 11-2. On Sunday in the finale, Chicago scored four runs in the ninth inning to cap off a wild 9-5 win. Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, Cody Bellinger and Christopher Morel combined for eight RBI in the victory.
It’ll be Shota Imanaga in the starting role Monday for Chicago. Imanaga was just signed by the Cubs in early January for four years and $53 million. He’s a former Nippon Professional Baseball player, hailing from Japan. Imanaga makes his MLB debut here.
Chicago Cubs Team Facts
- The Cubs have lost four of their last five games as favorites against the Rockies following a road win.
- The Cubs have failed to cover the run line in each of their last seven games as favorites against the Rockies following a road win.
- The Cubs have led after 5 innings in each of their last eight Monday day games.
- The Cubs have trailed after 7 innings in seven of their last 10 home openers as favorites.
- The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Cubs’ last five Monday day games.
Colorado Rockies Team Facts
- The Rockies have lost 13 of their last 14 road games.
- The Rockies have covered the run line each of their last four games at Wrigley Field against teams that held a losing record.
- The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Rockies’ last five games against National League opponents.
- The Rockies have lost the first inning in each of their last five games against National League opponents.
- The Rockies have led after 5 innings in four of their last five games as underdogs against NL Central opponents.
Rockies vs Cubs Prediction
I’m going to take a stab on the Cubs here. It’ll be interesting to see what Imanaga can do in his first MLB start. He’s not necessarily an overpowering pitcher—his fastball averages around 92 MPH—but Imanaga does have some pinpoint command when he’s at his best. In their Sunday matchup the Cubs got a ton of production from the top of their order. Pitching-wise wasn’t too bad either; the bullpen managed 5.0 innings, no earned, three hits and seven Ks. Considering Colorado was quite permissive to the Diamondbacks offense this past weekend, Chicago should have some good scoring opportunities in this opener.