Chicago Cubs vs Kansas City Royals Prediction, Preview and Odds - 07/26/2024

Game Time: 8:10 pm ET, Friday, July 26, 2024

Venue:  Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO

Where to Watch:  BSKC

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Cubs +124, Royals -148; Over/Under:  9 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Cubs +125, Royals -150; Over/Under:  9 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Cubs +125, Royals -150; Over/Under:  9 runs

Chicago Cubs:  49-55 (5th place, NL Central)

Kansas City Royals:  56-47 (3rd place, AL Central)

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Chicago Cubs:  4-6 last 10

Kansas City Royals:  6-4 last 10

The Cubs are entering this series off a loss and lost their 3-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 49-55 record overall and have a road record of 22-30. This is the series opener of a 3-game series with the Royals on Friday and they have Thursday off as a day of rest. Their offense ranks 23rd in the MLB with a .685 OPS. Justin Steele was their starting pitcher on Wednesday while Kyle Hendricks is making his start in this game on Friday. He is 2-8 with a 6.69 ERA this season. His team lost 4 of their last 5 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 3 ER, 2 HR, and 3 BB with 2 Ks on 3 hits through 5 IP against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Royals are entering this series off a loss and lost their 3-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 56-47 record overall and have a home record of 35-20. This is the 1st game of a 3-game series with the Cubs on Friday and they have Thursday off as a day of rest. Their offense ranks 12th in the MLB with a .717 OPS. Michael Wacha was their starting pitcher on Wednesday while Brady Singer is making his start in this game on Friday. He is 6-6 with a 3.00 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 2 BB with 7 strikeouts on 5 hits through 7 innings played against the Chicago White Sox.

The current betting odds have the Royals listed as a favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Royals have looked good in their games this season with their 56-47 record overall which has them in 3rd place of the AL Central and fighting for a Wild Card spot. They have also looked great in their home games with their 35-20 home record which is one of the best home records in the MLB. Meanwhile, the Cubs haven't looked good in their games this season with their 49-55 record overall which has them at the bottom of the NL Central and out of the playoff race. They have been terrible in their road games too, going 22-30 in those. They just lost their last series since their offense has not been producing lately, and now they won't have good pitching in this one to help them out. They are going to have Hendricks on the mound here and he has looked terrible this season. He is 2-8 with a 6.69 ERA and has been giving up a ton of runs all season. He only gave up 3 earned runs in his last start but his team has still lost 4 of their last 5 games with him starting, and he will get into trouble against this much better Royals offense. The Royals will have Singer on the mound here and he has been a solid starter for them all season. He is 6-6 with a 3.00 ERA and he hasn't been giving up many runs all season. He gave up no runs in his last start which has been a common theme for him and the team has won 2 of their last 3 games with him starting too. The Cubs have been terrible on offense lately so they aren't going to have an easy time here trying to put up runs in this game, and they are going to need runs to win with how bad Hendricks has looked in his starts all season. The best way to place a bet here is on the Royals to win this game. 

Cubs Royals Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Friday, July 26, 2024 (8:10 pm ET start time) is Royals 9 Cubs 3.

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Chicago Cubs: 5-2 (+5.05 units) on the moneyline in their last 7 away games. 9-3 (+4.60 units) on the runline in their last 12 away games. 25-14 to the under in their last 39 games. 

Kansas City Royals: 11-14 (-5.90 units) on the first 5 runline in their last 25 home games. 23-13 to the under in their last 36 games. 

Chicago Cubs:  L. Little (SP) out for season - Back. H. Wesneski (RP) Early Aug - Forearm. J. Wicks (SP) Out indefinitely - Oblique. 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. B. Brown (SP) Out indefinitely - Neck. C. Kilian (SP) Mid July - Shoulder. A. Alzolay (RP) Out indefinitely - Forearm.

Kansas City Royals:  M. Melendez (RF) Late July - Ankle. D. Altavilla (RP) Mid Sep - Oblique. K. Wright (SP) out for season - Shoulder. J. Taylor (RP) Late June - Bicep.

“We pitched well. We didn’t score enough runs.” - Craig Counsell after his team’s loss against the Brewers in their game on Wednesday.

“We left some guys on early, so to fight back and get the lead was big for us. But you’ve got to give those guys credit for executing and getting balls in play.” - Matt Quatraro after his team’s loss against the Diamondbacks in their game on Wednesday.

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 Tauchman (L) CF

T Nido (R) C

M Mastrobuoni (L) 3B

A Frazier (L) LF

B Witt Jr. (R) SS

V Pasquantino (L) 1B

S Perez (R) C

M Massey (L) 2B

F Fermin (R) DH

D Waters (S) RF

M Garcia (R) 3B

K Isbel (L) CF

Batting Average:  David Bote (.324)

Hits:  Nico Hoerner (93)

Home Runs:  Christopher Morel (18)

RBI:  Ian Happ (60)

Stolen Bases:  Pete Crow-Armstrong (18)

Wins:  Shota Imanaga (8)

Saves:  Héctor Neris (14)

ERA:  Ethan Roberts (0.00)

Batting Average:  Bobby Witt (.344)

Hits:  Bobby Witt (141)

Home Runs:  Salvador Perez (18)

RBI:  Bobby Witt (70)

Stolen Bases:  Maikel Garcia (23)

Wins:  Seth Lugo (12)

Saves:  James McArthur (17)

ERA:  Jordan Lyles (0.00)

Managers:

Chicago Cubs: Craig Counsell (1st season)

Kansas City Royals: Matt Quatraro (2nd season)