Chicago Cubs vs Kansas City Royals Prediction, Preview and Odds - 07/27/2024

Game Time: 7:10 pm ET, Saturday, July 27, 2024

Venue:  Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO

Where to Watch:  BSKC

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Cubs +102, Royals -122; Over/Under:  8 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Cubs +100, Royals -120; Over/Under:  8 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Cubs +100, Royals -120; Over/Under:  8 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 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Royals on Saturday with the series opener of this series still to be played on Friday. Their offense ranks 22nd in the MLB with a .685 OPS. Kyle Hendricks is their starting pitcher on Friday while rookie pitcher Shota Imanaga is making his start in this game on Saturday. He is 8-2 with a 2.86 ERA this season. His team won their last 2 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 1 ER, 1 HR, and 1 BB with 10 Ks on 2 hits through 7 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 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Cubs on Saturday with the 1st game of this series still to be played on Friday. Their offense ranks 12th in the MLB with a .717 OPS. Brady Singer is their starting pitcher on Friday while Seth Lugo is making his start in this game on Saturday. He is 12-4 with a 2.38 ERA this season. His team lost 2 of their last 3 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 1 earned run, 0 homers, and 0 BB with 6 strikeouts on 3 hits through 9 innings played against the Chicago White Sox.

The current betting odds have the Royals listed as a slight 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. The Cubs are going to have their rookie stud on the mound here Imanaga and he is 8-2 with a 2.86 ERA. He has looked really good in his 1st MLB season, giving up just 1 earned run in his last start which has been a common theme for him all year. The team has won 2 games in a row with him starting too, but as good as he has looked lately, it isn't going to help much if the Cubs can't score runs in this game which has been a problem for them lately. The Cubs have had no offense since coming out of the All-Star break and it has shown in their results with a majority of their games being losses. The Royals have a much stronger offense this season that has been putting up a ton of runs lately and they have also looked a lot better in their home games. The Royals have a big advantage in this one with their offense, but they also have their own stud on the mound here with Lugo going in this one. Lugo is 12-4 with a 2.38 ERA and hasn't been giving up many runs in his starts either. He gave up just 1 earned run in his last start and that has been a common theme for him. The team has lost 2 of their last 3 games with him starting, but he has looked so good in those starts that he is due for another win in this one. The Royals have a starter that can go toe-to-toe with Imanaga deep into this game and the Royals have a bigger edge here with their offense. The best way to place a bet here is on the Royals to win this game. 

Cubs Royals Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Saturday, July 27, 2024 (7:10 pm ET start time) is Royals 3 Cubs 0.

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Chicago Cubs: 5-3 (+4.05 units) on the moneyline in their last 8 away games. 9-4 (+3.05 units) on the runline in their last 13 away games. 50-36 to the under in their last 86 games. 

Kansas City Royals: 12-14 (-4.90 units) on the first 5 runline in their last 26 home games. 23-11 to the under in their last 34 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)