Cubs Visit Guardians For Key Series Between Playoff Contenders

Cubs vs Guardians MLB Picks Favor Visiting Chicago

National League Wild Card Standings

The Chicago Cubs try to continue their climb up the National League Wild Card standings when they visit the Cleveland Guardians for a three-game interleague series beginning Monday night. Would this help them with the Cubs vs Guardians MLB Picks of the day?

Both teams would love to beat the MLB playoff odds and have this rematch of the 2016 World Series be replayed again in October as well.

Chicago (59-60) is on a four-game winning streak heading into this series, having swept the Chicago White Sox in a two-game set over the weekend.

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The hot streak has helped the Cubs move up to third in the NL Central MLB standings, 1.5 games behind the second-place St. Louis Cardinals, and to within three games of the final Wild Card spot in the National League, currently held by the Atlanta Braves.

Cleveland has won two in a row, topping the Minnesota Twins in the final two games of their weekend series on the road.

The Guardians (69-49) are atop the AL Central, leading the Twins by 3.5 games, and are just a half-game behind the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees for the best record in the American League.

The sportsbooks are making their Cubs vs Guardians MLB picks and favoring visiting Chicago in the opener.

  • The Cubs are listed at -119 on the moneyline for Monday’s game, with the Guardians getting +109 odds.
  • Betting on the run line can get you Cleveland at -160 when getting 1.5 runs
  • while Chicago is +140 when giving those runs.
  • The over/under for the contest has been set at eight runs, with -115 on the over and -105 for the under.
  • Remember these odds when you are picking your best mlb picks and parlays.

Every game in the series is scheduled to start with a 6:40 p.m. ET first pitch, and all three games will be played at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

Cubs logo Cubs vs Guardians Guardians logo

⏰Day/Time: 📍Location: Progressive Field, Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio
📺Streaming: MLB.TV

Pitching Matchups

Game 1: Shota Imanaga (Chicago) vs Ben Lively (Cleveland)

  • Rookie left-hander Shota Imanaga will get the call for the Cubs in the opener. The 30-year-old is 9-2 with a 3.06 ERA (13th in the majors), striking out 128 in 123.1 innings over 21 starts.

Imanaga was solid in his last start, picking up the win after going seven innings against the Twins and two runs on two hits while striking out 10 and walking one.

The Guardians will counter with righty Ben Lively, who will make his 21st start of the campaign. Lively is 10-7 with a 3.59 ERA, having recorded 92 strikeouts over 110.1 innings. Take a closer look, as this might change the Cubs vs Guardians MLB picks decision.

He’s coming off a rough start against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday in which he went five innings and allowed four runs on four hits, including two home runs, while striking out two and walking four.

Game 2: Javier Assad (Chicago) vs Undecided (Cleveland)

Chicago will send righty Javier Assad to the mound for Tuesday’s contest. Assad is 5-3 with a 3.24 ERA, recording 90 strikeouts in 102.2 innings over 21 starts.

Assad hasn’t been lasting very long in his starts of late, going more than four innings just once in his five starts since spending a month on the injured list.

The 27-year-old is coming off a four-inning start against the Twins on Wednesday in which he allowed two runs on three hits while striking out one and walking two.

Cleveland hasn’t settled on a starter for the middle contest of this series just yet after right-hander Carlos Carrasco was placed on the 15-day injured list with a hip strain late last week.

The Guardians could go for a bullpen game to try to get the rotation back in order after Carrasco’s MLB injury and a pair of doubleheaders last week.

Game 3: Jameson Taillon (Chicago) vs Alex Cobb (Cleveland)

The Cubs will have right-hander Jameson Taillon getting the start to wrap up the series. Taillon is 8-6 with a 3.50 ERA, striking out 90 in 115.2 innings over 20 starts.

He’s coming off a difficult outing against the White Sox on Friday, allowing five runs on nine hits, including two home runs, to the worst offense in the majors. It was the second time in his last three starts that Taillon has allowed at least five earned runs.

Veteran righty Alex Cobb is set to make his second start of the season in Wednesday’s contest. Cobb started against the Twins on Friday and went 4.2 innings, giving up five runs (four earned) on nine hits while striking out one and walking one.

The 36-year-old was acquired from the San Francisco Giants at the trade deadline and hadn’t pitched in 2024 due to hip surgery and nerve issues in his right shoulder. He was 7-7 with a 3.87 ERA in 28 starts with the Giants in 2023.

Cubs Heating Up At Plate

Chicago’s biggest Achilles heel this season has been its lack of consistency in scoring runs. The Cubs come into this week in a tie for 18th in baseball in runs scored with 503 and 23rd in batting average at .236.

But the MLB team’s recent hot run has seen it come alive at the plate, averaging 6.2 runs over four-game win streak. Cleveland has been the other way, struggling to reach the MLB implied runs for it in dropping seven of its last nine.

Shortstop Dansby Swanson is batting .387 in August, including a pair of hits on Saturday, just hours after his wife Mallory scored the winning goal for the US women’s soccer team in the goal medal game in the Olympics.

Swanson is on a six-game hitting streak and has 16 doubles, two triples, nine home runs, 37 RBI and 45 runs scored this season.

The rock of Cleveland’s offensive attack this season has been third baseman Jose Ramirez, who is second in baseball with 97 RBI after hitting a solo home run in Sunday’s win over Minnesota.

  • The home run was Ramirez’s 31st of the year, putting him fifth in the majors. He’s batting .280 with 25 doubles, a triple and 86 runs scored.

Twins Roll Over Struggling White Sox

The Cubs vs Guardians MLB picks would seemingly be for host Cleveland, but the Guardians are struggling to put some starting pitching on the mound. That could allow Chicago to come up with a series win in this one.

We like the Cubs to repeat their 2016 success against the Guardians and win this series, helping their chances of another MLB playoff appearance this season.

For MLB betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.


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