The first game back in Major League Baseball on Friday is the Arizona Diamondbacks on the road at the Chicago Cubs. Both teams have gotten off to slow starts this season, after high expectations. Arizona is 49-48 on the season, but have moved into second place in the National League West. Arizona won 6 out of their last 10 games before the break, but lost 8-7 on Sunday to Toronto.
For the Chicago Cubs, they are coming off a four game series in St. Louis, where they split the games. The Cubs are 47-51 on the season, which is last place in the National League Central. Chicago has won 7 out of their last 10 games.
The Arizona Diamondbacks are listed at -125 over the Chicago Cubs on Friday.
Home Team Chicago Cubs
Justin Steele is set to take the mound for Chicago. After starting slow, Steele has been strong as of late. In his last two outings, he has allowed just 4 runs on 12 hits over 22 innings. On the season, he sits with a 2-3 record and a 2.71 earned run average. He has struck out 81 batters in 86.1 innings.
Chicago has been up and down with the bats. The Cubs are 19th in runs scored, as they are putting up 4.2 per game. Chicago has a team batting average of .235, which is 22nd in the league. The Cubs have hit 100 homeruns, which is ahead of just 9 other teams in the league.
The top Cub threats on the offensive side have been Christopher Morel, Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki. Morel hit two homeruns on Sunday and has 18 on the season. Happ is consistently finding ways to get on base, and has 15 homeruns, while Suzuki is next, with 13.
Road Team Arizona Diamondbacks
A season after reaching the World Series, Arizona started slow, but have picked things up quite a bit. The Diamondbacks are now tied at the top of the game with 5 runs per game. Arizona is hitting .254 as a team. The Diamondbacks also have 102 homeruns, which is in the middle of the pack in Major League Baseball.
Arizona has seen Christian Walker belt 22 homeruns this season. Ketel Marte is next for Arizona, with 19 on the season. Joc Pederson and Lourdes Gurriel are next for Arizona, with 13.
The Diamondbacks have yet to announce their starting pitcher for this game. Zac Gallen has been their best pitcher. His last start was on July 14th against Toronto. Brandon Pfaadt leads the team with 19 starts on the season.
Diamondbacks top Cubs in Chicago
When we go to make our final bet for this game, we are going to take the Arizona Diamondbacks -125 to beat the Chicago Cubs.. Enjoy the game and best of luck with all your Major League Baseball for this and all the games on the slate.
