San Francisco Giants vs Chicago Cubs Preview
At 3:45 PM ET, the Cubs and Giants will face off in an NL matchup. This one is being played at Oracle Park in San Francisco, and the Giants are the slight money line favorite (-108). The money line odds for a Cubs win are sitting at -110, and they are 5th in the NL Central with a record of 37-44. The Giants have won three straight and are 4th in the NL West at 39-42.
Thursday’s forecast in San Francisco calls for scattered clouds and temperatures in the mid 50s. MLBN will be televising this matchup. Shota Imanaga is starting for the Cubs, while the Giants are going with Jordan Hicks.
Check out BetCoco for San Francisco Giants – Chicago Cubs odds
San Francisco Giants Trends and Key Stats
- The Cubs are 1-4 in their five most recent road games, including a 0-5 runline record.
- On the other side, the Giants have gone 0-5 (SU) and 0-5 in their previous five home contests.
- Over the last ten games, Cubs has a record of 3-7 when playing as favorites and 3-7 when playing as underdogs.
- The Giants have a 4-6 record when favored, while their record as the underdog is 6-4.
San Francisco picked up a 4-3 win over the Cubs in the most recent game of this series. The Giants had a three-run 2nd inning and scored the game’s go-ahead run in the 5th. As for the Cubs, they scored one run in the 4th and added their final two runs in the 5th.
Hayden Birdsong only went 4 2/3 innings for the Giants but gave up just three hits and three earned runs. Luke Jackson got the win out of the bullpen, and Camilo Doval got the save. Drew Smyly took the loss for Chicago, giving up three earned runs in four innings of work.
Luis Matos and Michael Conforto each homered for the Giants, while David Villar scored twice and drove in a run while going 1/3. Seiya Suzuki hit a home run for the Cubs, going 1/4.
San Francisco Giants vs Chicago Cubs Prediction
Chicago is on the road today, and they are looking to snap a four-game losing streak, as they have dropped the first three games of their series vs. the Giants. Currently, the Cubs are 5th in the NL Central with an 11-game deficit behind the Brewers.
So far, the Cubs are just 9-17 against other NL Central teams. Overall, they come in with a record of 37-44. At home, the Cubs have gone 22-18 compared to 15-26 on the road. Chicago has dropped four straight on the road, and they are just 5-6 as the road favorite this year.
The Cubs have been a solid bet on the run line this season, going 38-43 overall. They have been especially good on the run line on the road, going 23-18. They have been a good bet on the run line as the underdog, going 28-14, but have struggled as the favorite, going just 10-29 on the run line.
The Chicago Cubs are on the road against the San Francisco Giants today, with the over/under line set at 7.5 runs. The Cubs have a combined run average of 8.6 runs per game this season, and their over/under record is 34-44. When the over/under line is set at 7.5 runs, the Cubs have gone over the total 8 times and under 10 times. Overall, 65.4% of their games have had over/under lines set higher than 7.5 runs, and they are currently on a two-game under streak.
Shota Imanaga gets the start for the Cubs today and will be looking to bounce back from a rough outing vs. the Mets. In that start, which came on June 21st, he took the loss and gave up 10 runs (10 earned) in just 3 innings of work. Looking back further, Imanaga had picked up the win in two straight starts before that outing. His overall record for the season is 7-2, and he has an ERA of 2.96. Out of his 14 starts, Imanaga has turned in eight quality starts and is averaging 9.23 strikeouts per nine innings.
Chicago’s offense is averaging 4.1 runs per game this season, which is 20th in the league. They have been a bit better at home, averaging 4.3 runs per game. As a team, the Cubs are batting just .230, and their team slugging percentage of .368 is also below the league average. However, they do come into the game with the 5th fewest strikeouts in the MLB.
Christopher Morel has been the Cubs’ top power threat this season, as his 15 homers is 10th in the league. However, he is batting just .204. Cody Bellinger and Ian Happ are both batting in the low .200s this season, but Bellinger has gone 8/21 in his last six games, and Morel is also on a six-game hitting streak.
San Francisco is hosting the Cubs today with an overall record of 39-42, which has them 4th in the NL West. The Giants are 11.5 games behind the Dodgers for the division lead. So far, they have gone 13-13 in divisional games. The Giants have won three straight games, and they have won four straight at home, where they are 23-17 overall.
As the favorite, the Giants have gone 23-18 this year and 16-24 as the underdog. So far, they are 12-11-2 in series this year, and they have lost three straight series.
The Giants have been a tough team to bet on this season, as they have a negative run differential on the year. Their run line record is below .500 at 39-42, and they have been slightly better on the road (21-20) compared to at home (18-22). They have been a better bet as the underdog, going 22-18 against the run line, compared to 17-24 as the favorite.
San Francisco is playing at home today against the Cubs, and the over/under line is set at 7.5 runs. The Giants and their opponents have combined to average 9.1 runs per game this season, and their over/under record is 44-35. When the over/under line has been set at 7.5 runs, their record is 18-12. Overall, 55.6% of their games have had higher over/under lines than 7.5 runs, and the under has hit in their last two games.
Jordan Hicks will be looking to bounce back from a rough outing vs. the Cardinals, as he gets the start for the Giants today. In that June 22nd start, he took the loss, giving up five earned runs in four innings of work. Looking back over his last four starts, Hicks has given up at least two home runs in three of them. So far this season, he has a record of 4-4, an ERA of 3.24, and he has issued 3.46 walks per nine innings. Opponents are batting .225 off Hicks this season. Per nine innings, he is averaging 7.7 strikeouts.
For the season, the Giants are averaging 4.4 runs per game, which is 15th in the league. They have been a better offensive team on the road this season, averaging 4.5 runs per game. San Francisco comes into the game with a team batting average of .245, and their team on-base percentage of .316 is 12th in the league.
Over his last nine games, Heliot Ramos has gone just 7/38 at the plate, but he does have two home runs during that stretch. For the season, Ramos is batting .294 with a team-high 10 homers. Thairo Estrada and Matt Chapman are also tied for 2nd on the team with nine home runs apiece, but both are batting just .234 for the season.
With the Giants at -108 to pick up the win, this is where we see the best value in this game. We actually have the Giants winning by a score of 5-4, giving us a little bit of wiggle room with the over/under line sitting at 7.5 runs.
Looking at the starting pitchers, we have Jordan Hicks finishing with five strikeouts compared to Shota Imanaga with eight. However, Hicks is projected to finish with a better ERA than Imanaga, and we have him going 5.2 innings, compared to Imanaga at 5.0.
San Francisco Giants vs Chicago Cubs Betting Tips
- Take the Cubs on the moneyline
- The Giants are also our pick on the run line at +1.5
- Projecting a combined 9 runs, we like the over
San Francisco Giants Injury Report
| Player | Status | Injury |
|---|---|---|
| Robbie Ray | Out | Elbow |
| Alex Cobb | Out | Hip |
| Tom Murphy | Out | Knee |
| Mike Yastrzemski | Out | Oblique |
| Blake Snell | Out | Groin |
| LaMonte Wade Jr. | Out | Hamstring |
| Tristan Beck | Out | Vascular |
| Ethan Small | Out | Oblique |
| Austin Warren | Out | Elbow |
| Kyle Harrison | Out | Ankle |
| Keaton Winn | Out | Elbow |
| Jung Hoo Lee | Out | Shoulder |
Chicago Cubs Injury Report
| Player | Status | Injury |
|---|---|---|
| Yency Almonte | Out | Shoulder |
| Mike Tauchman | Out | Groin |
| Mark Leiter Jr. | Out | Forearm |
| Adbert Alzolay | Out | Forearm |
| Julian Merryweather | Out | Ribs |
| Ben Brown | Out | Neck |
| Caleb Kilian | Out | Teres Major |
| Jordan Wicks | Out | Oblique |
