Chicago Cubs vs Minnesota Twins Prediction & Betting Tips 8/5/2024

Chicago Cubs vs Minnesota Twins Preview

There appears to be a chance for light rain in Chicago on Monday, where the Cubs and Twins face off at Wrigley Field. Chicago has a record of 55-59 and they are 4th in the NL Central, while the Twins are 62-48 and they are on a 4 game winning streak. Minnesota is favored on the money line (-121), while the Cubs’ odds are sitting at +101. The over/under line is currently at 8 runs.

First pitch for this one is set for 8:05 PM ET, and MARQ will be televising it. Kyle Hendricks is starting for the Cubs, and the Twins are going with David Festa.

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Chicago Cubs vs. Minnesota Twins Trends and Key Stats

• Across their last five road games, the Twins are 2-3. This includes going 2-3 vs. the runline.
• The Cubs, on the other hand, have played five home games recently, during which they have recorded a 3-2 (SU) and 3-2 record.
• The Twins have a 6-4 straight-up record in their last ten games as the favorite, and 6-4 against the runline.
• The Cubs have a 3-7 record vs. the runline and a 4-6 straight-up record in their last ten games as the underdog.

Chicago Cubs vs Minnesota Twins Prediction

The Twins’s offense was hot right out of the gates in their most recent game vs. the White Sox, closing out their series with a 13-7 win. After allowing two runs to the White Sox in the top of the first, the Twins responded with six runs of their own. Minnesota went on to add another six runs in the 2nd inning.

Cole Sands got the start for the Twins, going four innings, and picking up the win. He got into some trouble in the 3rd inning, giving up three runs, but the Twins offense bailed him out. Royce Lewis was hot at the plate, going 2/4 with a homer and three RBIs.

With an overall record of 62-48, the Twins are 4.5 games behind the Guardians for the AL Central lead. Minnesota will be playing on the road today vs. the Cubs, and they have won four straight games. Their four-game winning streak comes after sweeping the White Sox in a three-game series.

Minnesota has been really good as the favorite this season, going 50-27, including 24-10 as the favorite on the road. Their overall road record is 30-27 compared to 32-21 at home. So far, they have gone 24-12-2 in series this year.

Minnesota has been a solid run line bet this season, going 54-56 overall. They have been particularly good on the road, going 31-26 against the run line. Their average run margin is +0.5 runs per game, and they have covered the run line in five straight games.

Minnesota’s road games have featured a combined run average of 9.4, and the Twins’ over/under record is 57-50. The average over/under line in their games is 8 runs, and their record when the line is set at 8 runs is 7-15-3. Forty percent of their games have had over/under lines set at more than 8 runs, while 37.3% have had lines set at fewer than 8 runs.

David Festa will be making his 4th start of the season for the Twins, and he’ll be on the road against the Cubs. Festa has a win and a loss under his belt so far, with his most recent outing being a 5-inning loss to the Mets in which he gave up 2 earned runs. He has 13 strikeouts in 14 innings of work this season.

Heading into today’s game, the Twins are 4th in the league in scoring, averaging 4.9 runs per game. This has been pretty consistent for them, as they are averaging 4.8 runs per game on the road and 5.1 runs per game at home. As a team, they are batting .253, which is 8th in the league, and have the league’s 8th fewest strikeouts. The Twins have been one of the league’s best power-hitting teams, as they are 8th in home runs and have the 5th best Isolated Power (ISO) mark in the league.

Ryan Jeffers comes into the game as the Twins’ leader in home runs (16) and RBIs (52) while batting just .232. However, he has been swinging a hot bat of late, going 11/38 in his last nine games. Byron Buxton and Carlos Santana are tied for 2nd on the team with 14 homers apiece, with Buxton batting .276 and Santana at .243. Buxton has three homers in his last nine games and is batting .267 in that stretch.

The Cubs’s offense was hot right out of the gates in their most recent game vs. the Cardinals, closing out their series with a 6-2 win. After allowing two runs to the Cardinals in the top of the first, the Cubs responded with two runs of their own. Chicago went on to add another two runs in the 4th inning.

Starting for the Cubs was Justin Steele, who picked up the win while tossing 6 2/3 innings of two-run ball. He also finished with six K’s and issued just two walks. Mike Tauchman went 2/4 with a homer and two RBIs.

Chicago is 55-59 overall, putting them 4th in the NL Central. Currently, they trail the Brewers by 8.5 games. The Cubs are 17-26 against other teams in the NL Central. They have been good at home, going 30-26 compared to 25-33 on the road.

The Cubs have an overall series record of 13-20-3 this year. They have won four straight games as the underdog, and they are 11-6 as the home underdog this year. Chicago’s overall record as the underdog is 30-31 and 25-28 as the favorite.

Chicago has a run line record of 55-59 this season, with a 21-35 mark at home. They have a run line record of 34-24 on the road, and have gone 41-20 against the run line as an underdog. The Cubs have an average run margin of 0.0 this season, with a +0.4 run differential at home and a -0.4 run differential on the road. They have won four straight vs. the run line as an underdog.

When the Chicago Cubs play at home, the over/under line is set at 8 runs, which is slightly below their season average of 8.4 runs per game. The Cubs have gone over the total in 49 of their 110 games this season, and their games have been set at an average of 8 runs per game. When the line is set at 8 runs, the Cubs have gone over the total in just 5 of 20 games.

Chicago is sending Kyle Hendricks to the mound today vs. the Twins, and he will be looking to build off his last outing, in which he gave up just three earned runs in five innings of work. In that outing vs. the Reds, he picked up the win. Looking back over his last four outings, Hendricks has alternated between wins and losses. His overall record for the season is 3-9, and he has an ERA of 6.86. Opposing batters are hitting .288 off Hendricks this year. So far, he has made 15 starts, two of which were quality starts.

Heading into today’s game, the Cubs are averaging 4.2 runs per game, which is 21st in the league. This includes averaging 4.3 runs per game on the road and 4.1 runs per game at home. As a team, they are batting just .234, which is 18th in the league, and are also 18th in home runs. However, they do come into the game with the 7th fewest strikeouts in the league.

Over his last nine games, Michael Busch has three home runs and is batting .241. Nico Hoerner is currently on an eight-game hitting streak and is batting .256 for the season. Ian Happ leads the Cubs with 17 home runs but is batting just .228.

With the Cubs being the underdogs at +101, that is the way we recommend playing this one. We have the Cubs winning this game 6-5, giving us a little bit of cushion on the money line.

Looking at the starting pitchers, we have Kyle Hendricks finishing with four strikeouts compared to David Festa with just four. Hendricks is also projected to go one inning longer than Festa.

Chicago Cubs vs Minnesota Twins Betting Tips

• Take the Twins on the moneyline
• On the run line we like Cubs (+1.5)
• Projecting a combined 11 runs, we like the over

Chicago Cubs Injury Report

Minnesota Twins Injury Report