Arizona Diamondbacks vs Chicago Cubs Prediction, Preview and Odds - 07/21/2024

Game Time: 2:20 pm ET, Sunday, July 21, 2024

Venue:  Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL

Where to Watch:  MARQ

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Diamondbacks +110, Cubs -130; Over/Under:  7.5 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Diamondbacks +110, Cubs -130; Over/Under:  7.5 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Diamondbacks +110, Cubs -130; Over/Under:  7.5 runs

Arizona Diamondbacks:  50-48 (2nd place, NL West)

Chicago Cubs:  47-52 (5th place, NL Central)

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Arizona Diamondbacks:  7-3 last 10

Chicago Cubs:  6-4 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 50-48 record overall and have a road record of 24-24. This is the series finale of a 3-game series with the Cubs on Sunday with the 2nd game of this series still to be played on Saturday. The Diamondbacks won the series opener of this series on Friday. Their offense ranks 9th in the MLB with a .737 OPS. Zac Gallen is their starting pitcher on Saturday while Brandon Pfaadt is making his start in this game on Sunday. He is 4-6 with a 3.97 ERA this season. His team won their last 4 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 0 ER, 0 HR, and 0 BB with 4 Ks on 3 hits through 6 IP against the Atlanta Braves.

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 47-52 record overall and have a home record of 25-22. This is the 3rd game of a 3-game series with the Diamondbacks on Sunday with the 2nd game of this series still to be played on Saturday. The Cubs lost the 1st game of this series on Friday. Their offense ranks 18th in the MLB with a .694 OPS. Kyle Hendricks is their starting pitcher on Saturday while Shota Imanaga is making his start in this game on Sunday. He is 8-2 with a 2.97 ERA this season. His team won 2 of their last 3 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 6 strikeouts on 6 hits through 6 innings played against the Baltimore Orioles.

The current betting odds have the Cubs listed as a slight favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Cubs haven't looked great in their games this season with their 47-52 record overall which has them at the bottom of the NL Central, but they have looked a lot better in their games lately. They are 6-4 in their last 10 games and they have also looked a lot better in their home games this year, going 25-22 in those. Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks haven't looked bad in their games this season with their 50-48 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 24-24 road record. The Cubs lost the 1st game of this series on Friday but they have a better pitching matchup here to help them win a game. They will have Imanaga on the mound in this one and he is 8-2 with a 2.97 ERA. He was a stud to start the season and ended up hitting a bump in the road, but he has bounced back from that bad stretch and has looked great in his starts lately. He gave up no runs in his last start and the team has won 2 of their last 3 games with him which has been a common theme for them this season. The Diamondbacks will have Pfaadt in this one and he is 4-6 with a 3.97 ERA. He also gave up no runs in his last start and his team has won 4 games in a row with him starting, but he hasn't been keeping teams off the board a lot in his starts and this is a game where he can get himself into some trouble on the road. He still has more losses than wins this season and he is due for another loss since the Cubs have been producing runs in their last few games. The best way to place a bet here is on the Cubs to win this game.

Diamondbacks Cubs Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Sunday, July 21, 2024 (2:20 pm ET start time) is Cubs 5 Diamondbacks 1.

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Arizona Diamondbacks: 20-14 (+9.50 units) on the moneyline in their last 34 away games. 22-12 (+9.45 units) on the runline in their last 34 games. 25-24 (+9.70 units) on the first 5 moneyline in their last 49 away games. 

Chicago Cubs: 8-22 (-17 units) on the first 5 moneyline in their last 30 home games. 12-24 (-16.05 units) on the first 5 runline in their last 36 home games. 21-11 to the under in their last 32 home games.

Arizona Diamondbacks:  M. Castro (RP) Prob Sat - 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. 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’re just good hitters, you know, and I think we have good game planning. So what it is exactly I don’t know. I know that they go out there with a really good idea of how to attack each pitcher and it certainly worked today against Steele.” - Torey Lovullo after his team’s win against the Cubs in their game on Friday.

“I think there were some big calls in this game that were called incorrectly. Some balls, some strikes that were just missed.” - Craig Counsell after his team’s loss against the Diamondbacks in their game on Friday.

K Marte (S) 2B

G Moreno (R) C

L Gurriel Jr. (R) LF

C Walker (R) 1B

R Grichuk (R) DH

E Suárez (R) 3B

C Carroll (L) RF

G Perdomo (S) SS

A Thomas (L) CF

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 (107)

Home Runs:  Christian Walker (22)

RBI:  Christian Walker (68)

Stolen Bases:  Corbin Carroll (19)

Wins:  Ryne Nelson (7)

Saves:  Paul Sewald (14)

ERA:  Yilber Diaz (1.50)

Batting Average:  David Bote (.353)

Hits:  Nico Hoerner (89)

Home Runs:  Christopher Morel (18)

RBI:  Ian Happ (58)

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)