Look out baseball, the Cubs are heating up. The defending World Series champs are coming off two consecutive series sweeps and with just 13 games remaining in the regular season, the timing couldn’t be much better. They’ll head to Tropicana Field for one more interleague series and they could close as favorites tonight despite what looks to be a lopsided pitching matchup that favors the Rays.
- The Cubs are 9-3 SU and on the runline in their last 12 games when Sportsbook a series.
- The total has gone OVER in 6 of the Rays’ last 8 games when Sportsbook a series.
- The Rays are 1-6 SU in their last 7 games against left-handed starting pitchers.
During their 6-0 straight-up and runline winning streak, the Cubs are hitting an eye-popping .345 as a team and they’ve scored 55 runs on 70 hits. They’ll face a pitcher tonight in Chris Archer (9-10, 4.06 ERA) who’s coming off three horrendous outings in which he’s allowed 13 runs in just seven innings of action.
While Archer is a far better pitcher than Mike Montgomery, it looks like he’s worn out and it wouldn’t be shocking to see the Cubs hammer him. In 47 total at-bats, Cubs batters own a .340 average and a .978 OPS against the strikeout specialist – yikes.
If you can get the Cubs at plus-money today, I’d go ahead and pull the trigger. The Rays have been slumping to the finish line, struggling mightily to score runs. We would have killed to get the Cubs at -105 against a team like the Rays last year – this is a great spot.
Sportsbook Odds & Computer Pick
Baseball betting oddsmakers, including Sportsbook, opened the Tampa Bay Rays as -110 moneyline favorites in this matchup. OVER/UNDER total bettors saw the number open at 8 at shops such as Sportsbook.
OddsShark computer prediction formulas pick a 4.8-4.2 win for the Rays on Tuesday. View the computer score prediction and who will win the pick on the moneyline for all upcoming MLB matchups here.
Chicago Cubs vs Tampa Bay Rays Matchup
Team Betting Records & Power Rankings
73-77 Tampa Bay battles the Cubs, currently with a 83-66 mark. Stay Informed: follow us on Twitter for odds specials, betting line moves and Tampa Bay vs Chicago injuries news.
The OddsShark MLB Power Rankings have the Tampa Bay Rays at No. 21 and the Chicago Cubs at No. 7 heading into this contest.
Statistical Matchup
Scoring stats point to some edges in this matchup. The game features the Tampa Bay Rays' No. 26-ranked scoring average of 4.23 runs per game, against a Chicago Cubs offense rated No. 5 and scoring 5.11 runs per game. The Rays have averaged 8.29 hits per game to date this season, less than the Cubs hitters have managed (8.71 per nine innings).
Defensively, Chicago features the No. 7-rated defense on the road, allowing 4.14 runs per game. Tampa Bay, meanwhile, comes in at No. 26 at home, scoring 4.18 runs per game.
Recent Outings Betting Recap
Chicago looks to continue its winning ways following a victory last time out against the Cardinals, a 4-3 final on Sunday in support of Jose Quintana at Wrigley Field.
Tampa Bay got the job done in their last match in a 3-2 victory over Boston on Sunday at Tropicana Field behind starter Jake Odorizzi.
- Chi Cubs is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
- Chi Cubs is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Chi Cubs' last 6 games
- Chi Cubs is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
- Tampa Bay is 3-8 ATS in its last 11 games
- Tampa Bay is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Tampa Bay's last 7 games
- Tampa Bay is 2-6 ATS in its last 8 games at home
Next Betting Matchups
Chicago at Tampa Bay, Wednesday, September 20
