Kansas City Royals vs Chicago Cubs Predictions, MLB Picks, Betting Tips 8/3/2020

Game: Kansas City Royals vs Chicago Cubs

Date: Monday, August 3, 2020

Location: Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL

TV: MARQ/FSKC

Odds/Point Spread: Royals (+140) Cubs (-160)

Javier Baez and the Chicago Cubs (6-2, 1st in NL Central) host the Kansas City Royals (3-6, 5th in AL Central) at Wrigley Field on Monday. The Royals open this contest at +140 while the Cubs are priced at -160. The over/under has been set at 9.5. The pitchers who are expected to start will be Danny Duffy and Alec Mills.

Key Kansas City Royals Injuries

8/2/2020 Adalberto Mondesi SS Quadriceps Expected to be out until at least Aug 3
8/2/2020 Nicky Lopez 2B Lower Leg Expected to be out until at least Aug 3
8/2/2020 Chance Adams RP Undisclosed Expected to be out until at least Aug 10
8/1/2020 Brad Keller SP Not Injury Related Expected to be out until at least Aug 6
7/31/2020 Foster Griffin RP Forearm Out for the season
7/28/2020 Mike Montgomery SP Lat Expected to be out until at least Aug 14
7/23/2020 Randy Rosario RP Arm Expected to be out until at least Aug 3
7/22/2020 Hunter Dozier 3B Illness Expected to be out until at least Aug 7
7/16/2020 Kelvin Gutierrez 3B Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 1

Key Chicago Cubs Injuries

8/2/2020 Jose Quintana SP Thumb Expected to be out until at least Aug 14
8/2/2020 Kris Bryant 3B Illness Expected to be out until at least Aug 3
7/26/2020 Brad Wieck RP Hamstring Expected to be out until at least Aug 5
7/23/2020 Daniel Descalso 2B Ankle Expected to be out until at least Sep 5

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Royals have a 3-6 overall record this season. Duffy (60-62 career win-loss mark) sits with a FIP of 4.24 and he has gone up against 4,518 hitters during his time in the major leagues. His earned run average is 3.99 (472 earned runs allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.317. He has conceded 1,012 base hits (8.6 hits per nine innings) and has 389 free passes. Duffy has pitched in 1,064 innings and is sitting with 936 K's so far in his career. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.06 and they have given up 43 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .211 against the bullpen and they've struck out 44 hitters and walked 20 batters. As a team, Kansas City allows 8.5 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.2 batters per nine innings. They are 15th in the league in team earned run average at 4.27. The Royals pitchers collectively have given up 74 base hits and 37 earned runs. They have allowed 14 home runs this season, ranking them 3rd in the league. Kansas City as a pitching staff has walked 30 batters and struck out 71. They have walked 3.5 men per 9 innings while striking out 8.2 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.33 and their FIP as a unit is 5.13.

Related: How to Bet Parlays

Hitting Statistics

As a team Kansas City is hitting .245, good for 11th in the league. The Royals hold a .415 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .290, which is good for 23rd in baseball. They rank 8th in MLB with 8.7 hits per game. Maikel Franco is hitting .250 with an on-base percentage of .243. He has 9 hits this season in 36 at bats with 7 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .500 and an OPS+ of 103. Whit Merrifield is hitting .324 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .375. He has totaled 12 hits and he has driven in 9 men in 37 at bats. His OPS+ is 183 while his slugging percentage is at .649. The Royals have 78 hits, including 19 doubles and 11 home runs. Kansas City has walked 15 times so far this season and they have struck out 88 times as a unit. They have left 58 men on base and have a team OPS of .705. They score 4.22 runs per contest and have scored a total of 38 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Chicago has a 6-2 overall mark this year. Mills (2-1 career record) has earned a 3.71 ERA while giving up 6.7 hits per 9 innings. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.88 and he has gone up against 264 hitters in his career. In his pro baseball career, Mills has surrendered 47 base hits while he has tallied 72 K's in 63 innings pitched. He has surrendered 26 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 1.141 and a FIP of 3.9. The bullpen has an earned run average of 9.75 and they have given up 26 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .217 against the Cubs bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 27 batters and walked 21 opposing hitters. As a team, Chicago allows 6.6 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.4 batters per nine innings. They are 20th in the league in team earned run average at 4.82. The Cubs pitchers as a team have surrendered 52 base knocks and 38 earned runs this season. They have given up 12 home runs this year, which ranks 9th in Major League Baseball. Chicago as a staff has walked 31 hitters and struck out 74 batters. They give up a walk 3.9 times per 9 innings while they strike out 9.4 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.17 while their FIP as a staff is 4.75.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .256, good for 6th in the league. The Cubs hold a .489 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .360, which is good for 2nd in baseball. They rank 10th in MLB with 8.5 hits per contest. Javier Baez comes into this matchup batting .250 with an OBP of .314. He has 8 hits this year along with 5 RBI in 32 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .594 with an OPS+ of 146. Nico Hoerner is hitting .350 this season and he has an OBP of .391. He has collected 7 hits in 20 at bats while driving in 5 runs. He has an OPS+ of 122 and a slugging percentage of .400. The Cubs as a unit have 68 base hits, including 15 doubles and 15 homers. Chicago has walked 31 times this year and they have struck out on 80 occasions. They have had 59 men left on base and have an OPS of .849. They have scored 6 runs per game and totaled 48 runs this season.

Who will win tonight's Royals/Cubs MLB game against the spread?

Parlays Pundit's Pick: Take the Cubs (-160) and over the total runs

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