Boys the world over dream about this moment, but it only becomes a reality for a select few. The players for the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians become a part of that rare group when they meet in Game 7 of the World Series on Wednesday. One game to prove who is the best team in baseball. Being in front of your home fans has been vital to Game 7 success, as the home team has won nine of the past 10 World Series Game 7s.
- Anthony Rizzo is 8-for-18 with six runs in the past 5 games.
- Corey Kluber will become the 19th pitcher to start Games 1, 4 and 7, with the other 18 posting a 3.00 ERA in Game 7.
- A Cleveland team has not won a championship in Cleveland since 1964.
There have been six Game 7s since 1990 and they have been close affairs, as four of the six have been settled by one run. With aces usually being trotted out to the bump, offense has been hard to come by in the six games mentioned above, as there has been an average of 4.8 runs per game.
The Indians will turn to Cy Young candidate Corey Kluber, as he aims to become the first pitcher since Bob Gibson in 1967 to win Games 1, 4 and 7 in a World Series. Kluber has been nearly unhittable during the postseason, as he has a 0.89 ERA in five starts – which includes 19.1 scoreless innings at home.
Kyle Hendricks has been just as unstoppable for the Cubbies, as he enters Game 7 riding a 15-inning scoreless streak. In his past two postseason starts, one of which was in Game 3 against the Indians, he has surrendered just eight hits for no runs with 12 strikeouts.
Though starting pitching is always important, the bullpens for both teams should be deadly. The Indians will be able to send Andrew Miller to the bump, who has allowed just eight hits and one run with 29 strikeouts across 17.0 postseason innings. The Cubs will likely turn to Jon Lester, who started Games 1 and 5. Lester has always been one of the best postseason pitchers in the MLB, as the lefty has a career 2.62 ERA while surrendering less than a hit per inning in his 21 career playoff appearances.
Sportsbook Odds & Computer Pick
Betting fans looking to pick the Cleveland Indians in this matchup found them as -110 favorites on the MLB money line at Sportsbook. Betting the over under instead? It was 7.5 at its open earlier today and hovering near that number at Sportsbook.
Prediction-scoring formulas run on this game pick a potential 3.8-3.3 result in favor of the Cubs. View the computer score prediction and who will win the pick on the moneyline for all upcoming MLB matchups here.
Chicago Cubs vs Cleveland Indians Matchup
Team Betting Records & Power Rankings
The Cleveland Indians bring a 104-71 record to the battle against the 113-64 Cubs. Stay Informed: follow us on Twitter for odds specials, betting line moves and Cleveland vs Chicago injuries news.
The Odds Shark MLB Power Rankings have the Cleveland Indians at No. 13 and the Chicago Cubs at No. 1 heading into this contest.
Statistical Matchup
On offense, it's a battle between the Cleveland Indians and its No. 7-rated batting order, averaging 4.71 runs per nine innings, against the No. 3 line up of the Chicago Cubs at 4.92 runs per outing.
Defensively, Chicago features the No. 3-rated defense on the road, allowing 3.84 runs per game. Cleveland, meanwhile, comes in at No. 3 at home, scoring 5.42 runs per game.
Recent Outings Betting Recap
The Cubs grabbed a win last time out, defeating J Tomlin and the Indians 9-3 on Tuesday at Progressive Field.
- Chi Cubs is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games
- Chi Cubs is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Chi Cubs's last 7 games
- Chi Cubs is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
- Cleveland is 11-3 ATS in its last 14 games
- Cleveland is 13-4 SU in its last 17 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Cleveland's last 13 games
- Cleveland is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games at home
Next Betting Matchups
Chicago home to , Wednesday, December 31st
Cleveland home to , Wednesday, December 31st
