The Miami Marlins and Chicago Cubs are slated to start a four game series on the Northside of Chicago on Thursday. The Miami Marlins are coming into the game after losing two out of three at home to the San Francisco Giants. The Marlins are a National League worst 4-15 on the season.
For the Cubs, they are coming home following a win in Arizona. The Cubs won two out of three, winning the finale 5-3 over the Diamondbacks. Chicago is now 11-7 on the season, and have gone 5-1 at home this season. The Cubs are battling with Milwaukee for the top spot in the National League Central.
Chicago Cubs
Dansby Swanson, Cody Bellinger, Michael Busch and Mike Tauchman all had two hits in the win on Wednesday. Bellinger went deep for the Cubs, which was his third of the season. Busch leads the team in batting average, as he is hitting .317 on the season. He also has 6 home runs and 17 runs batted in.
The Cubs are one of the best offensive teams in baseball. Chicago has a team batting average of .247, but have scored a ton of runs. In the loss on Tuesday, the Cubs scored 10, but saw Randal Grichuk walk it off on them for the 11th run for the Diamondbacks. Chicago’s team ERA sits at 4.39.
Jameson Taillon is set to make his first start of the season for the Chicago Cubs. The 32 year old was out to start the season with a back injury. Last season, he made 29 starts, and went 8-10 on the season, with a 4.84 ERA.
Miami Marlins
In the loss on Wednesday, the Marlins picked up just six hits. Bryan De La Cruz was the only played with two hits for the Marlins. He leads the team with a .288 batting average on the season. The Marlins are without their top power hitter Jake Burger, with an oblique injury. He has three home runs on the season.
The Marlins are one of the worst offensive teams in all of Major League Baseball. Miami is hitting .217 on the season, which is near the bottom of the league. The Marlins have hit 14 home runs, which is 26th out of 30 teams. The Marlins go to Atlanta next week to finish the 7 game road trip.
AJ Puk is going to get the start for the Miami Marlins. Puk is 0-3 on the season with an ERA of 5.91. Puk has thrown 10.2 innings this season, and walked 14 batters, while striking out 8. His last outing was on April 9th, where he went 4.2 innings, allowing 4 hits and a single earned run.
Cubs Top Marlins
The Cubs are back at home. Puk has not been really good. Taillon will be a little rusty, so we expect to get some decent runs scored in this game. Watch for the winds in this game, which could make a difference.
In the end, take the Cubs – over the Marlins. Our final score prediction is the Cubs beat the Marlins 7-6. Enjoy the game and best of luck with all your Major League Baseball bets!
