Chicago Cubs vs Kansas City Royals Prediction, Preview and Odds - 07/28/2024

Game Time: 2:10 pm ET, Sunday, July 28, 2024

Venue:  Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO

Where to Watch:  BSKC

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Cubs +145, Royals -175; Over/Under:  8.5 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Cubs +145, Royals -175; Over/Under:  8.5 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Cubs +145, Royals -175; Over/Under:  8.5 runs

Chicago Cubs:  49-56 (5th place, NL Central)

Kansas City Royals:  57-47 (3rd place, AL Central)

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Chicago Cubs:  3-7 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 49-56 record overall and have a road record of 22-31. This is the series finale of a 3-game series with the Royals on Sunday with the 2nd game of this series still to be played on Saturday. The Cubs lost the series opener of this series on Friday. Their offense ranks 24th in the MLB with a .683 OPS. Rookie pitcher Shota Imanaga is their starting pitcher on Saturday while Javier Assad is making his start in this game on Sunday. He is 4-3 with a 3.15 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 ER, 0 HR, and 6 BB with 2 Ks on 1 hit through 3.1 IP against the Milwaukee Brewers.

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 57-47 record overall and have a home record of 36-20. This is the 3rd game of a 3-game series with the Cubs on Sunday with the 2nd game of this series still to be played on Saturday. The Royals won the 1st game of this series on Friday. Their offense ranks 12th in the MLB with a .717 OPS. Seth Lugo is their starting pitcher on Saturday while Cole Ragans is making his start in this game on Sunday. He is 7-6 with a 3.23 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 3 earned runs, 1 homer, and 2 BB with 5 strikeouts on 6 hits through 6 innings played against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

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 57-47 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 36-20 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 49-56 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 22-31 in those. Both of these teams will have solid starters on the mound in this one, but the Royals have the edge here with their stronger offense and their great play at home lately. Assad is on the mound for the Cubs and he is 4-3 with a 3.15 ERA. He gave up no runs in his last start which has been a common theme for him this year, but his team has still lost 3 of their last 4 games with him starting and it doesn't really matter how well he pitches here if the Cubs aren't scoring any runs to help him out. Their offense has been terrible lately and it is a big reason why they are 3-7 in their last 10 games. The Royals have Ragans on the mound in this one and he gave up 3 earned runs in his last start, but he is also 7-6 with a 3.23 ERA this season, not giving up a ton of runs in a majority of his starts. The team has also been having success with him starting, winning 2 games in a row with him on the mound, and the Royals have been a much stronger team at home all season. The Royals are pushing to get themselves into a Wild Card spot in a very competitive American League this season, this is a series they can really take advantage of at home. The best way to place a bet here is on the Royals to win this game.

Cubs Royals Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Sunday, July 28, 2024 (2:10 pm ET start time) is Royals 4 Cubs 1.

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Chicago Cubs: 6-3 (+5.20 units) on the moneyline in their last 9 away games. 10-4 (+4.05 units) on the runline in their last 14 away games. 56-40 to the under in their last 96 games. 

Kansas City Royals: 12-15 (-5.90 units) on the first 5 runline in their last 27 home games. 21-10 to the under in their last 31 games. 

Chicago Cubs:  T. Nido (C) Out indefinitely - Knee. 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.

“Honestly I made all (my) pitches. I did everything I wanted to do. The Salvy (Perez) one was the one bad pitch. He put a good swing on that. I've just got to keep doing what I'm doing. I feel like I'm throwing the ball well and giving us a chance.” - Kyle Hendricks after their loss against the Royals in their game on Friday.

“There's no significance to that to me. This is a different team. None whatsoever. We're in a playoff race. That has absolutely nothing to do with anything I think about.” - Matt Quatraro after his team’s win against the Cubs in their game on Friday.

N Hoerner (R) 2B

M Busch (L) 1B

S Suzuki (R) RF

I Happ (S) LF

M Tauchman (L) DH

D Swanson (R) SS

M Mastrobuoni (L) 3B

M Amaya (R) C

P Crow-Armstrong (L) CF

A Frazier (L) DH

B Witt Jr. (R) SS

V Pasquantino (L) 1B

S Perez (R) C

M Massey (L) 2B

H Renfroe (R) RF

N Loftin (R) 3B

G Hampson (R) LF

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 (.343)

Hits:  Bobby Witt (142)

Home Runs:  Salvador Perez (19)

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)