The Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks meet on Thursday in MLB action at the Chase Field. Here’s a Diamondbacks vs Cubs Prediction. This article will include a Diamondbacks vs Cubs Pick.
Chicago Cubs Betting Preview
The Chicago Cubs are still looking for their first win of the season after losing two games to the Dodgers in Tokyo. The Cubs were outscored 4-10 in those two games, and the offense struck out 21 times. It’s just two games, and they came against the World Series gravities, but for a team that’s expected by many to win the NL Central, the Cubs have to get their act together. The Cubs start the season with nine straight road games, so this could be a growing point early on this season.
Jon Berti leads the Cubs with three hits and three total bases, while Dansby Swanson and Ian Happ have come for four hits and two RBI.
Justin Steele gets the ball for the Cubs, and he is 0-1 with an 11.25 ERA and 5 strikeouts this season. Steele is 0-2 with a 4.08 ERA and 36 strikeouts in his career against the Diamondbacks.
Arizona Diamondbacks Betting Preview
The Arizona Diamondbacks won 89 games last season and hope to make the postseason for the third time since the 2012 season. The Diamondbacks lost some production from a year ago in guys like Christian Walker and Joc Pederson, but this is the same squad for the most part and expected to have one of the best offenses in baseball. The Diamondbacks were second in average and first in runs scored last season. Corbin Carroll, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Ketel Marte, and Josh Naylor are as good as the first four in a batting order as it gets. Corbin Burnes as a back-end rotation piece is nice as well.
The Diamondbacks are in the same NL West that has the Dodgers and Padres, so they don’t get the same national coverage. However, the Diamondbacks are loaded on paper and are capable of pushing those teams for a postseason bid.
Zac Gallen gets the ball for the Diamondbacks, and he was 14-6 with a 3.65 ERA and 156 strikeouts last season. Gallen is 3-1 with a 2.60 ERA and 38 strikeouts in his career against the Cubs.
Why the Arizona Diamondbacks will win
- The Cubs have lost each of their last eight night games against NL West opponents following a loss.
- The Diamondbacks have won each of their last eight Thursday games against NL Central opponents.
- The Cubs have failed to cover the run line in each of their last eight Thursday night games against National League opponents.
- The favorites have covered the run line in each of the Cubs’ last four games.
- The Diamondbacks have won the first inning in four of their last five games against NL Central opponents.
- The Diamondbacks have led after 5 innings in each of their last six Thursday games as favorites.
- The Diamondbacks have led after 3 innings in four of their last five games against NL Central opponents.
Why the Chicago Cubs will win
- The underdogs have won seven of the Cubs’ last eight games at Chase Field.
- The Diamondbacks have lost three of their last four games as home favorites against NL Central opponents.
- The underdogs have covered the run line in each of the Cubs’ last 10 games at Chase Field.
- The Diamondbacks have failed to cover the run line in 11 of their last 12 games as home favorites against NL Central opponents.
- The Diamondbacks have trailed after 3 innings in four of their last five home openers.
- The Diamondbacks have trailed after 5 innings in four of their last five home openers.
Diamondbacks vs Cubs Injury Report
Jose Castillo is day-to-day with an adductor issue, while the Diamondbacks will begin the season without Kendall Graveman and Kevin Ginkel.
The Cubs will remain without Javier Assad and Tyson Miller.
Diamondbacks vs Cubs Prediction
The Cubs are too good of a team to let these losses get out of control, and there are advantages to having games under your belt. We also have to remind ourselves that those games came against the Dodgers, who will make many teams look silly this season. However, the Cubs didn’t look great, no matter how you slice it, and that includes a rough outing from Steele.
I’m extremely high on the Diamondbacks this season, and Gallen is one of the better pitchers in baseball. The Diamondbacks have won six straight games with Gallen as a home favorite. The Diamondbacks are 10-1 in Gallen’s last 11 games as a favorite overall, which includes a shutout win over the Cubs last July. Give me the Diamondbacks and the cheap price.