Cleveland Guardians vs Chicago Cubs Prediction, 7/2/2023 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Cleveland Guardians vs Chicago Cubs

Date: Sunday, July 2, 2023

Location: Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL

TV: Marquee

Wrigley Field is the location where the Chicago Cubs (37-42) will attempt to defeat the Cleveland Guardians (39-41) on Sunday. The pitchers taking the mound are Aaron Civale and Jameson Taillon.

As a team, the Cleveland Guardians are putting up 4.0 runs per game, which puts them at 26th in the league. They have racked up 321 runs scored while holding a team OBP of .314. The Guardians have hit 147 doubles as a team and have hit 53 balls out of the stadium. They have accrued 297 RBI's as well as 678 hits for the season, and their batting average is .249. Cleveland owns a slugging percentage of .376 and have struck out 570 times, while being walked on 244 occasions.

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They have earned a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.54 and the pitching staff has a team WHIP of 1.26. Guardians pitchers have yielded 78 home runs and 328 total runs (8th in the league). Cleveland has given up 656 hits (8.2 per 9 innings) as well as 299 earned runs. The Guardians have compiled a team earned run average of 3.74 this year (6th in MLB), and they have struck out 631 hitters. Their pitching staff has walked 248 opposing batters and their FIP comes in at 4.06 as a team over the course of the season.

The Guardians relievers have earned a save percentage of 62.8% and has come into the game in 89 save situations. The relief pitchers have inherited 88 runners for the year and 20.5% of those runners ended up crossing the plate. Guardians pitchers have entered the game with players on base 69 times and also have had 110 appearances in high leverage situations. The Guardians have sent 259 relief pitchers to the hill so far this season. The relief pitchers have notched 45 holds this year (12th in MLB). They have recorded 27 saves over the course of the season and have missed out on 16 of 43 save opportunities.

The Cleveland Guardians have 2,158 putouts for the season, as well as 740 assists and 39 errors. Their fielding rate is currently at .987 which has them sitting 12th in professional baseball, and have earned 50 double plays. The Guardians have transformed 70.6% of balls hit into play into outs out of their 6,474 innings, which has them sitting 6th in pro baseball.

Civale (26-23 career win-loss mark) has a FIP of 4.15 while facing 1,610 batters in the major leagues. He has conceded 362 hits (8.3 hits per nine innings) and has had 100 walks. His ERA is 3.99 (174 ER's allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.177. Civale has taken the hill for 392 innings and has earned 345 strikeouts so far in his pro baseball career.

Chicago has accumulated 87 home runs for the year to go along with 347 runs batted in. They have put up 118 two-baggers, while taking a walk 291 times as well as scoring 359 runs. The Chicago Cubs are sitting with an on-base percentage of .327 as well as a team batting average of .247 this season. The Cubs have a slugging percentage of .399 and they are earning 4.54 runs per game (13th in the league). They have struck out on 727 occasions (8th in baseball) and have recorded 658 base hits.

The Cubs have a team WHIP of 1.260 in addition to having a FIP of 4.06 as a staff over the course of the season. Their K/BB ratio comes in at 8.30 (642 strikeouts against 245 free passes). They are sitting at 4th in the league as a pitching staff in total hits surrendered with 632. They have relinquished 78 homers and they surrender 4.34 runs per 9 innings (13th in baseball). The Chicago pitching staff have allowed 336 runs on the campaign and come in with a team ERA of 3.97 (307 earned runs yielded).

Chicago has had relief pitchers take the mound in 16 save chances and they have walked away with 10 saves. They are currently ranked 16th in baseball holding a save percentage of 62.5%, and they have dispatched 242 relief pitchers to the hill so far this year. Their bullpen pitchers have come in 55 times in high leverage situations and on 60 occasions with base runners. Chicago relief pitchers hold an inherited score rate of 30.0% of 100 inherited runners. Sitting with 52 save situations, the Cubs have earned 35 holds in addition to 6 blown saves.

In their 6,264 innings played, the Cubs hold a defensive efficiency of 70.0% (7th in pro baseball). The Chicago Cubs have gotten 69 double plays and have a fielding percentage of .986 (16th in the majors). The Cubs have 712 assists, 40 errors and have earned a total of 2,088 putouts over the course of the season.

Taillon (53-41 win-loss mark in his career) has earned a 4.05 ERA while allowing 8.9 hits per nine innings. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 3.58 and he has gone up against 3,540 batters in his career. He has surrendered 381 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.236 and having a FIP of 3.9. During his MLB career, Taillon has conceded 833 base hits while totaling 763 K's in 846 frames.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Chicago

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