Cleveland Guardians vs Chicago Cubs Prediction, 7/1/2023 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Cleveland Guardians vs Chicago Cubs

Date: Saturday, July 1, 2023

Location: Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL

TV: Marquee

Odds/Point Spread: Cleveland (+120) Chicago (-140)

The Chicago Cubs (37-42) will try to defeat the Cleveland Guardians (39-41) at Wrigley Field on Saturday. The line on this matchup has the Guardians at +120 while the Cubs are at -140. The total is set at 9. The pitchers taking the mound will be Tanner Bibee and Marcus Stroman.

Cleveland is slugging .376 and have been called out on strikes 570 times, while being walked on 244 occasions. They have earned 297 runs batted in and 678 hits over the course of the season, and their team batting average is at .249. The Guardians have accrued 147 doubles as a squad and have hit 53 balls out of the park. They have accumulated 321 runs scored while holding a team OBP of .314. As a squad, the Cleveland Guardians are recording 4.0 runs per contest, which has them at 26th in baseball.

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The Guardians have an earned run average of 3.74 on the campaign (6th in the league), and they have struck out 631 hitters. Guardians pitchers have given up 78 home runs in addition to 328 runs in total (8th in the league). They have walked 248 opposing batters and their FIP is 4.06 as a unit this season. Cleveland has conceded 656 hits (8.2 per 9 innings) and also 299 earned runs. Their K/BB ratio is 2.54 and the pitching staff holds a collective WHIP of 1.26.

The Guardians have sent 259 relievers to the hill for the season. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 88 runners for the season and 20.5% of those players earned a run for their team. They have tallied 27 saves so far this season and have not converted 16 of their 43 save opportunities. The Guardians relievers have earned a save rate of 62.8% and has stepped onto the mound in 89 save situations. The relief pitchers have a total of 45 holds for the season (12th in the league). Guardians bullpen pitchers have entered the game with runners on base 69 times and also have had 110 appearances in high leverage situations.

The Guardians have turned 70.6% of balls in play into outs out of their 6,474 innings on the field, which has them sitting at 6th in pro baseball. The Cleveland Guardians are sitting with 2,158 putouts at this point in the season, as well as 740 assists and 39 errors. Their fielding percentage sits at .987 which has them ranked 12th in MLB, and they have twisted 50 double plays.

Bibee has pitched in 59 innings and is sitting with 58 punch outs in his career. Bibee (4-2 career win-loss mark) holds a FIP of 3.84 and he has gone up against 253 hitters in the majors. His earned run average is 3.79 (25 ER's allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.298. He has conceded 56 base knocks (8.5 hits per 9 innings) and has had 21 walks.

The Cubs hold a slugging % of .399 and they are earning 4.54 runs per game (13th in the league). They have recorded 118 doubles, while taking a walk 291 times as well as putting up 359 runs. Chicago has tallied 87 long balls for the year as well as 347 RBIs. They have struck out on 727 instances (8th in the league) and have earned a total of 658 hits. The Chicago Cubs have accumulated an on-base percentage of .327 in addition to a batting average of .247 for the season.

The Cubs are sitting with a team WHIP of 1.260 in addition to having a FIP of 4.06 as a squad this season. They are sitting at 4th in baseball as a staff in total hits conceded with 632. The Chicago pitching staff have yielded 336 runs over the course of the season while holding a team ERA of 3.97 (307 earned runs yielded). Their K/BB ratio is 8.30 (642 strikeouts against 245 walks). They have surrendered 78 long balls and they yield 4.34 runs per 9 innings (13th in MLB).

Sitting with 52 save situations, the Cubs have compiled 35 holds in addition to 6 blown saves. Chicago has called on relief pitchers to enter the game in 16 save opportunities and they have tallied 10 saves. Their bullpen pitchers have come in 55 times in high leverage situations and on 60 occasions with runners on. Chicago bullpen pitchers have an inherited score percentage of 30.0% of 100 inherited base runners. They are currently ranked 16th in the league holding a save rate of 62.5%, and they have sent 242 bullpen pitchers to the mound this year.

Out of their 6,264 innings on the field, the Cubs have a efficiency on defense of 70.0% (7th in pro baseball). The Chicago Cubs have gotten 69 double plays and have accounted for a fielding rate of .986 (16th in the majors). The Cubs have accrued 712 assists, 40 errors and have accounted for 2,088 putouts for the year.

Thus far in his career, Stroman has conceded 1,212 base hits while earning 1,057 strikeouts in 1,269 innings pitched. He has surrendered a total of 497 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.238 and a FIP of 3.6. His K/BB ratio is 2.94 and he has faced 5,256 opposing batters so far in his pro baseball career. Stroman (76-72 career win-loss record) has earned a 3.52 ERA while conceding 8.6 hits per nine innings.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread or moneyline?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Cleveland (+120)

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