Arizona Diamondbacks vs Chicago Cubs Prediction, Preview and Odds - 07/20/2024

Game Time: 7:15 pm ET, Saturday, July 20, 2024

Venue:  Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL

Where to Watch:  FOX

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Diamondbacks -142, Cubs +120; Over/Under:  8 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Diamondbacks -140, Cubs +120; Over/Under:  8 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Diamondbacks -140, Cubs +120; Over/Under:  8 runs

Arizona Diamondbacks:  49-48 (2nd place, NL West)

Chicago Cubs:  47-51 (5th place, NL Central)

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Arizona Diamondbacks:  6-4 last 10

Chicago Cubs:  7-3 last 10

The Diamondbacks are entering this series off a loss and won their 3-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 49-48 record overall and have a road record of 23-24. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Cubs on Saturday with the series opener of this series still to be played on Friday. Their offense ranks 9th in the MLB with a .736 OPS. Ryne Nelson is their starting pitcher on Friday while Zac Gallen is making his start in this game on Saturday. He is 6-5 with a 3.87 ERA this season. His team lost their last 2 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 6 ER, 1 HR, and 1 BB with 1 K on 9 hits through 3.2 IP against the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Cubs are entering this series off a win and split their 4-game series against the St Louis Cardinals 2-2 in their last series. They enter this game with a 47-51 record overall and have a home record of 25-21. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Diamondbacks on Saturday with the 1st game of this series still to be played on Friday. Their offense ranks 18th in the MLB with a .695 OPS. Justin Steele is their starting pitcher on Friday while Kyle Hendricks is making his start in this game on Saturday. He is 2-7 with a 6.78 ERA this season. His team lost 3 of their last 4 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 0 earned runs, 0 homers, and 1 BB with 3 strikeouts on 5 hits through 7 innings played against the St Louis Cardinals.

The current betting odds have the Diamondbacks listed as a favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Cubs haven't looked great in their games this season with their 47-51 record overall which has them at the bottom of the NL Central, but they have looked a lot better in their games lately. They went into the All-Star break with a 7-3 record in their last 10 games and they have also looked a lot better in their home games this year, going 25-21 in those. Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks haven't looked bad in their games this season with their 49-48 record overall which has them in 2nd place of the NL West, but they have been struggling just to stay above .500 as they had a losing record for most of the season. They haven't looked as good in their road games either with their 23-24 road record, but this is still the team that went to the World Series last season and now that they are back over .500, they will be trying to get themselves into a playoff position. They do have the more favorable pitching matchup in this one too. They are going to have Gallen on the mound here and he is 6-5 with a 3.87 ERA. He did give up 6 earned runs in his last start and the team has lost 2 games in a row with him starting, but that hasn't been a common theme for him this year since he hasn't been giving up a ton of runs in his starts all season. He is going to be looking to bounce back after that bad start and he is due for a win with how good he has looked all year. The Cubs are going to have Hendricks on the mound here and he has looked terrible this season. He is 2-7 with a 6.78 ERA and has been giving up a ton of runs in his starts all season. He did give up no runs in his last start against the Cardinals, but that has been rare for him this season. His team has still lost 3 of their last 4 games with him starting too so the Diamondbacks are setup nicely to win this one. The best way to place a bet here is on the Diamondbacks to win this game. 

Diamondbacks Cubs Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Saturday, July 20, 2024 (7:15 pm ET start time) is Diamondbacks 5 Cubs 3.

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Arizona Diamondbacks: 41-47 (-12 units) on the runline in their last 88 games. 41-44 (-9.20 units) on the first 5 runline in their last 85 games. 

Chicago Cubs: 8-3 (+6.65 units) on the moneyline in their last 11 games. 9-2 (+6.55 units) on the runline in their last 11 games. 

Arizona Diamondbacks:  M. Castro (RP) Prob Fri - Shoulder. B. Walston (SP) Late Aug - Elbow. J. Montgomery (SP) Out indefinitely - Knee. M. Kelly (SP) Mid Aug - Shoulder. E. Rodriguez (SP) Early June - Shoulder. D. Jameson (RP) out for season - Elbow. K. Nelson (RP) out for season - Shoulder.

Chicago Cubs:  L. Little (SP) Out indefinitely - Shoulder. C. Bellinger (CF) Late July - Hand. C. Brewer (RP) Out indefinitely - Hand. Y. Almonte (RP) out of season - Shoulder. K. Thompson (SP) Mid July - Ribs. M. Tauchman (LF) Late July - Groin. J. Wicks (SP) Out indefinitely - Oblique. B. Brown (SP) Out indefinitely - Neck. C. Kilian (SP) Mid July - Shoulder. J. Merryweather (RP) Early June - Back. A. Alzolay (RP) Out indefinitely - Forearm.

“We fall behind, but the guys didn't shut down and that's just one of the great characteristics of this team. They're hungry. They wanted to go out there and fight their way back into the game.” - Torey Lovullo after his team’s loss against the Blue Jays in their game on Sunday.

“It was his best day in the big leagues, and it was fun to watch.” - Craig Counsell on Pete Crow-Armstrong after his team’s win against the Cardinals in their game on Sunday.

K Marte (S) DH

G Moreno (R) C

L Gurriel Jr. (R) LF

C Walker (R) 1B

R Grichuk (R) RF

J McCarthy (L) CF

E Suárez (R) 3B

K Newman (R) 2B

G Perdomo (S) SS

N Hoerner (R) 2B

M Busch (L) 1B

S Suzuki (R) RF

I Happ (S) LF

C Morel (R) DH

D Swanson (R) SS

M Mastrobuoni (L) 3B

T Nido (R) C

P Crow-Armstrong (L) CF

Batting Average:  Jose Herrera (.368)

Hits:  Ketel Marte (105)

Home Runs:  Christian Walker (22)

RBI:  Christian Walker (66)

Stolen Bases:  Corbin Carroll (18)

Wins:  Zac Gallen (6)

Saves:  Paul Sewald (13)

ERA:  Justin Martinez (1.32)

Batting Average:  David Bote (.353)

Hits:  Nico Hoerner (86)

Home Runs:  Christopher Morel (18)

RBI:  Ian Happ (57)

Stolen Bases:  Pete Crow-Armstrong (17)

Wins:  Shota Imanaga (8)

Saves:  Héctor Neris (13)

ERA:  Ethan Roberts (0.00)

Managers:

Arizona Diamondbacks: Torey Lovullo (8th season)

Chicago Cubs: Craig Counsell (1st season)