Indians vs Cubs

Indians vs Cubs – MLB Odds & Picks

Written by on September 15, 2020

The Cleveland Guardians and Chicago Cubs met in a memorable 2016 World Series and it’s possible they could meet in another one this fall. They close a quick two-game interleague set from Wrigley Field on Wednesday night. Both are going to be in the playoffs and both could win their respective Central Divisions.

How to Bet Indians at Cubs MLB Odds & TV Info

  • When: Wednesday, 8:15 p.m. ET
  • Where: Wrigley Field
  • Probable pitchers (away/home): Aaron Civale/Jon Lester
  • TV: MLB Extra Innings
  • Stream/gameday audio: https://www.mlb.com/live-stream-games/
  • Opening MLB Lines: TBA
Why Bet on Cleveland?

The Indians are scuffling a bit so they likely will not win the AL Central but be a Wild-Card team. They remain without Manager Terry Francona due to some health problems, although not COVID-19 related. Cleveland has dropped two straight series for the first time this season. The last time they dropped two consecutive series was to conclude the 2019 season, dropping two of three to White Sox and all three to Washington (Sept. 24-29, 2019). The Tribe are 10-5-1 in 16 series this season and have been swept three times.

“Every team struggles,” Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor said recently. “It’s a question of, are you gonna struggle five games, 10 games, 15 games or 100 games? … We don’t have that many games to be struggling.”

This could well be Lindor’s final season with the team as he’s expected to be traded ahead of 2022 free agency.

It’s Aaron Civale scheduled to pitch here. Civale was tagged for four runs in six innings by the Royals in a loss Thursday. Civale allowed four consecutive hitters to reach base in the third inning, accounting for three of his four earned runs. He was solid otherwise, racking up 15 of his 18 outs via either groundout or strikeout. Civale has cooled a bit since his strong start to the season, allowing 14 earned runs across his last 24 frames — a span of four starts.

Civale had a 2.91 ERA through five starts this season, but he’s come in at 5.25 in his last four outings, even though he’s struck out 24 in 24 innings.  Despite this rocky stretch, he’s maintained a 3.88 ERA with a 56:10 K:BB across 58 innings. Civale has never faced the Cubs.

Indians catcher Roberto Perez recently believed Civale was using his cutter too much, rather than relying more on his fastball/sinker. Perez had Civale adjust his pitch usage. Perez wanted Civale to utilize his sinker as its own weapon rather than only using it so set up other pitches. Though, if he can’t command that pitch like he’s accustomed to it isn’t much of a weapon either way.

Why Bet on Chicago?

Alec Mills etched his name into the history books on Sunday, pitching the 16th no-hitter in Cubs’ history — and the second in MLB this season — in a dominant victory over the Brewers. The 28-year-old right-hander walked three and struck out five on the afternoon. He got through the ninth inning by getting Jacob Nottingham to pop out to first, striking out Tyrone Taylor and retiring Jace Peterson on a ground ball to Javier Baez to end it. Mills needed only 114 pitches to record his 27 outs. It was the first complete game and shutout for Mills in his career — coming in his 15th career start.

The Cubs continue to win despite former NL MVP Kris Bryant really struggling. Bryant is still receiving treatment for a wrist injury he suffered a month ago, but manager David Ross insists that the wrist isn’t bothering the struggling third baseman. “He’s got another gear he’s expecting of himself,” Ross said.

Craig Kimbrel picked up his second save of the season over the weekend, and the 348th of his career to move into 12th place in MLB history, surpassing Randy Myers. Troy Percival ranks 10th all-time with 358 saves. © Kimbrel, in his last 11 games since August 14, has pitched to a 1.74 ERA (2 ER/10.1 IP), holding opponents to a .118 average (4-for34), a .286 OBP, a .118 slugging mark and a .403 OPS. He’s walked seven and struck out 22, good for an average 19.16 strikeouts per 9.0 innings. Kimbrel opened the year having allowed seven earned runs in 2.2 innings in his first four games through August 6.

The Cubs bullpen has posted a 2.05 ERA in the team’s last 17 games dating to August 28, holding opponents to a .181 average and a .541 OPS. Cubs relievers have averaged 10.63 strikeouts per 9.0 innings pitched, the third-best mark among MLB bullpens.

It’s veteran Jon Lester on the mound here. Lester fired six scoreless frames in a no-decision against the Brewers on Friday. Lester held the Brewers to just three hits while walking two and striking out eight. He had allowed five runs or more in four out of his last five starts.

Against the Brewers, he started successfully working the ball down and on the edges more successfully, and the Brewers were befuddled. Lester. He had a better game score (75) just once last year, and just three times each in 2017 and 2018. His 16.5% swinging strike rate was the third-highest any start of his Cubs career.

Expert Prediction

Cubs 5, Indians 4

 
 

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