Chicago comes into the game on a four-game winning streak and is 59-60 overall, while the Guardians are 69-49 and are 1st in the AL Central. Monday’s forecast in Cleveland calls for clear skies and temperatures in the low 70s.
The over/under line for Monday’s Cubs vs. Guardians interleague matchup is at 8 runs, and the Cubs are the slight money line favorite, with their odds sitting at -118 compared to the Guardians at +100. Ben Lively is starting for the Guardians, and the Cubs are sending Shota Imanaga to the mound. This one is set to get started at 6:40 PM ET from Progressive Field in Cleveland, and MARQ has this one on TV.
Red-Hot Cubs Look to Extend Winning Streak Against Struggling Guardians
The Cubs are 59-60 overall and are 3rd in the NL Central, nine games behind the Brewers. They have gone 17-26 in divisional games. Chicago has won four straight games and have won three straight series. Shota Imanaga gets the start for the Cubs today and is 9-2 with a 3.06 ERA. He has 13 quality starts and is averaging 9.34 strikeouts per nine innings. The Cubs offense is 20th in runs per game and batting average, but they are 8th in walks. Nico Hoerner, Isaac Paredes, and Ian Happ are some of the Cubs top hitters.
Chicago is 27-33 on the road and 32-27 at home. As the favorite, they are 27-28 and 32-32 as the underdog. The Cubs have an average run differential of +0.1, but that number jumps to +0.5 at home. So far, the Cubs have played in 62 games with over/under lines set at 8 runs or higher. The Cubs are 5-14-1 in those games. Overall, their over/under record is 52-63. Today, the Cubs are facing the Guardians, who are 52-67 overall and are 11 games back in the AL Central. The Cubs are currently favored in this game.
Guardians Look to Extend Winning Streak as Lively Takes the Mound Against Cubs
Cleveland is hosting the Cubs today with an overall record of 69-49, good for 1st place in the AL Central. Currently, they lead the Twins by 3.5 games for the division lead. The Guardians closed out their series vs. the Twins with a win and are on a two-game winning streak. So far, the Guardians have gone 21-17 in divisional games. At home, they are 35-20 this season compared to 34-29 on the road. This year, the Guardians are 48-25 as the favorite but just 21-24 as the underdog. As the home underdog, the Guardians have gone 4-6 this year, and they have an overall series record of 22-11-5.
Right-hander Ben Lively is getting the start for the Guardians today as he faces the Cubs at home. He has made 20 starts this season and has a record of 10-7 with a 3.59 ERA. Lively’s WHIP for the season is currently 1.17. In his 20 starts, he has turned in seven quality starts and is averaging 7.5 strikeouts per nine innings. Lively most recently faced the Diamondbacks, where he took the loss, giving up four earned runs in five innings of work. Before that outing, he had won two straight starts. The Cleveland Guardians have been an average offensive team this season, scoring 4.6 runs per game, which ranks 13th in the league. Their batting average of .240 is below average, but they have been good at avoiding strikeouts, ranking 4th in the league in that category. José Ramírez and Josh Naylor have been the top hitters for the Guardians this season, with Ramírez hitting .280 with 31 home runs and 97 RBIs. Naylor has hit .246 with 26 home runs and 85 RBIs. In their last 9 games, Ramírez has been hitting .324, while Naylor has hit .206 with 3 home runs. Naylor is currently on a 3-game hitting streak, along with Steven Kwan and Will Brennan.
Guardians Edge Cubs in Predicted 6-5 Thriller: Imanaga Outduels Lively
Our prediction for this Cubs vs. Guardians matchup is to take the Guardians on the money line at +100. We have the Guardians winning this one by a final score of 6-5.
Looking at the starting pitchers, we have Ben Lively finishing with a total of four strikeouts, which is much lower than Shota Imanaga, who we have finishing with six K’s.
