Chicago Cubs vs Toronto Blue Jays Prediction & Betting Tips 8/17/2024

Chicago Cubs vs Toronto Blue Jays Preview

At 2:20 PM ET, the Blue Jays and Cubs face off in an interleague matchup. This one is being played at Wrigley Field in Chicago, and the Cubs are favored on the money line, with their odds sitting at -168. The money line odds for a Blue Jays win are at +143, and the over/under line is at 8.5 runs.

Chris Bassitt will start for the Blue Jays, and he is facing off against Justin Steele. Toronto is 5th in the AL East, while the Cubs are 4th in the NL Central. MLBN has TV coverage for Saturday’s game.

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Chicago Cubs vs. Toronto Blue Jays Trends and Key Stats

• Over the course of their previous five away games, the Blue Jays have recorded a 3-2 record, with a 5-0 performance on the runline.
• The Cubs, on the other hand, have played five home games recently, during which they have recorded a 2-3 (SU) and 2-3 record.
• Over their last ten games when playing as the favorite, the Cubs have won 5-5 straight-up, and have a 2-8 record vs. the runline.
• Looking back at their last ten games as the underdog, the Blue Jays have a 4-6 straight-up record and a 6-4 record vs. the runline.

Chicago picked up a 6-5 win over the Blue Jays in the most recent game of this series. The Cubs had a two-run lead going into the 9th inning, and the Blue Jays rallied with three runs but fell short. Heading into the game, the Cubs were favored at -129 on the money line.

Kyle Hendricks got the start for the Cubs, going five innings and giving up just one run. He finished with only two strikeouts and didn’t issue a walk. Tyson Miller came out of the bullpen for the win. Yariel Rodriguez got the start for the Blue Jays, giving up four runs in five innings of work.

At the plate, the Cubs were led by Ian Happ and Cody Bellinger, who each homered. Happ, Miguel Amaya, and Pete Crow-Armstrong each had two RBIs. For the Blue Jays, Leo Jimenez hit the game’s only other home run and drove in three runs.

Chicago Cubs vs Toronto Blue Jays Prediction

Toronto is 5th in the AL East, trailing the Yankees by 15.5 games. Overall, the Blue Jays are 57-65, and they are 17-24 in AL East matchups. The Blue Jays will be on the road today, heading to Chicago to take on the Cubs.

So far, the Blue Jays have gone 29-31 at home compared to a road record of 28-34. As the favorite, the Blue Jays are 36-26 this year and 21-39 as the underdog. Toronto’s overall series record is 14-19-6, and they are currently losing the series vs. the Cubs.

Despite being underdogs in 60 of their 122 games, the Blue Jays have been a solid bet on the run line this season, going 60-62. They have been especially profitable on the road, where they are 39-23 on the run line, including a current five-game streak. They have been a better bet as underdogs, going 33-27 on the run line in those games, compared to 27-35 as favorites.

The Toronto Blue Jays are on the road today against the Chicago Cubs. The over/under line for the game is set at 8.5 runs. The Blue Jays have a combined run average of 9.0 runs per game this season. Their over/under record for the season is 66-53, and their average over/under line is 8 runs per game. When the over/under line is set at 8.5 runs, their record is 19-19. So far this season, 22 of their games have had over/under lines set at 8.5 runs, accounting for 18.0% of their games. Their over streak is currently at 2 games.

Right-hander Chris Bassitt gets the start for the Blue Jays today as he faces the Cubs on the road. He has made 24 starts this season and has a record of 9-11 with a 4.30 ERA. Bassitt’s WHIP for the season is 1.44, and opponents are batting .263 off him this year. In his last outing, he gave up seven earned runs in four innings of work, taking the loss. Before that, he had won two straight starts. Bassitt has allowed at least one home run in four straight outings.

So far this season, the Blue Jays are averaging 4.2 runs per game, which is 21st in the league. This includes averaging 4.4 runs per game on the road and just 4 runs per game at home. As a team, they are batting .239, which is 15th in the MLB, and have the 11th best on-base percentage in the league. Toronto is also one of the better teams in the league at avoiding strikeouts.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been one of the league’s top hitters this season, coming in with a batting average of .319 to go along with 25 home runs and 80 RBIs. He has been even better of late, going 13/38 in his last nine games with three homers. Daulton Varsho is 2nd on the team with 15 homers but is batting just .208 for the season.

With a record of 60-63, the Cubs are in 4th place in the NL Central, trailing the Brewers by 10.5 games. So far, they have gone just 17-26 against other teams in the NL Central. Chicago is on a three-game winning streak at home, and they are 33-27 at home this year.

Chicago has gone 27-36 on the road this year. The Cubs have been slightly better as the favorite, going 28-29, compared to 32-34 as the underdog. So far, they have an overall series record of 15-21-3.

When betting the run line on the Cubs, it’s been a much better proposition to take them on the road this season. They are 36-27 vs. the run line on the road compared to 23-37 at home. They are also 44-22 vs. the run line as an underdog, compared to 15-42 as a favorite. Their average run differential in all games is 0.0, but it jumps to +0.5 at home and -0.4 on the road.

Chicago Cubs games have had an average combined run total of 8.4 this season, and their over/under record is 54-65. When the O/U line is set at 8.5 runs, the Cubs’ games have gone over 15 times and under 13 times. Overall, 29.3% of their games have had O/U lines set at 8.5 runs, with the majority of their games having lower O/U lines.

Left-hander Justin Steele gets the start for the Cubs today as he faces the Blue Jays at home. He has made 19 starts this season and has a record of 3-5 with a 3.16 ERA. Steele’s WHIP for the season is currently 1.10, and opponents are batting .216 off him this year. In his last outing, Steele finished with a no-decision, going six innings and giving up one earned run on six hits. He pitched well in that outing, as he didn’t allow a homer. Before that, he had given up a homer in three straight starts. Steele has one complete game and 10 quality starts this year.

So far this season, the Cubs are averaging 4.2 runs per game, which is 20th in the league. This is also the 17th ranked batting average in the league. However, they are one of the better teams in the league at drawing walks and have a collective on-base percentage of .310 (13th).

Over his last nine games, Ian Happ has gone 10/35 (.286) with four homers and six RBIs. For the season, he leads the team with 21 homers and is also the team’s leading run producer with 68 RBIs. Isaac Paredes is 2nd on the team in RBIs (63) and has 18 homers, but is batting just .234 for the season.

Our prediction for the Blue Jays vs. Cubs matchup is to take the Cubs on the money line at home. However, with the Cubs coming in at -168 on the money line, we actually like the over at 8.5 runs, with the payout sitting at -104.

Looking at the starting pitchers, we have Justin Steele going five innings for the Cubs and Chris Bassitt going six innings for the Blue Jays. If you’re looking for a player prop, you could look at the strikeout market, with Steele projected to finish with five K’s and Bassitt at five as well.

Chicago Cubs vs Toronto Blue Jays Betting Tips

• Take the Cubs on the moneyline
• On the run line we like the Blue Jays (+1.5)
• Projecting a combined 9 runs, we like the over

Chicago Cubs Injury Report

Toronto Blue Jays Injury Report