Wednesday's interleague matchup between the Twins and Cubs is set to get started at 2:20 PM ET from Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL. The Cubs are the slight underdog on the money line (+120), while the Twins have a money line payout of -142. The over/under line is currently at 7 runs.
Joe Ryan is starting for the Twins, and he is facing off against Javier Assad for the Cubs. Minnesota is 63-49 this season, and they are 2nd in the AL Central, while the Cubs are 5th in the NL Central with an overall record of 56-60. MARQ will be televising this one.
Minnesota vs. Chicago Matchup At A Glance
- Teams: Twins at Cubs
- Where: Wrigley Field Chicago
- Date: Wednesday, August 7th
- Betting Odds MIN -142 | CHC +120 O/U 7
Twins vs Cubs Last Game Recap
Chicago picked up a 7-3 win over the Twins in the most recent game of this series. The Cubs had a huge 1st inning, scoring three of their seven runs. As for the Twins, they scored their first run in the 4th and added their final two runs in the 6th.
Shota Imanaga pitched well for the Cubs in this one, going seven innings and giving up just two hits and two earned runs. He finished the game with 10 strikeouts and picked up a win. Pablo Lopez had a rough outing for the Twins, taking the loss after going five innings and giving up four earned runs on seven hits.
At the plate, the Cubs were led by Isaac Paredes and Dansby Swanson, who each had three RBIs. Nico Hoerner scored twice for Chicago while going 2/4. Royce Lewis had a two-run homer for the Twins.
Twins Preview
Minnesota is 63-49 this season and 24-14 against AL Central teams, sitting 4 games behind the Guardians in the division. As favorites, the Twins are 51-28, but as underdogs, they are 12-21. Their games have averaged 9.3 runs, resulting in a 58-51 over/under record. The over/under line of 7 runs for today is low, as 88.4% of their games have had higher totals.
The Twins have a 31-28 road record, and they are 22-12-2 in series this season. Overall, their run line record is 32-27, with an average run margin of +0.5 per game. In this series vs. the Cubs, they are tied at one game apiece.
Right-hander Joe Ryan is getting the start for the Twins today as he faces the Cubs on the road. He has made 22 starts this year and has a record of 7-7 with a 3.59 ERA. Ryan's WHIP for the season is currently .99. In his 22 appearances, he has turned in 13 quality starts. Ryan's last outing came against the White Sox, where he picked up the win, going 6 1/3 innings and giving up two earned runs. Before that, he had given up at least four earned runs in three straight starts. The right-hander has allowed a total of 18 homers this season.
Over the past seven games, Royce Lewis has gone 6/24 with three home runs and 11 RBIs. For the season, he is batting .280, which is 4th best on the team. Ryan Jeffers has a team-high 16 homers this season, but he is batting just .229. Carlos Santana and Byron Buxton are tied for 2nd on the team with 14 homers.
As a team, the Twins are 5th in the league in scoring at 4.9 runs per game. They have been even better at home, averaging 5.1 runs per game. Overall, they are 8th in home runs and have the 8th best team batting average in the league.
Cubs Preview
Chicago's overall series record this season is 13-20-3, and their run line record is 56-60. As the underdog, the Cubs have a 42-21 run line record, while as the favorite, they are 14-39. The average total runs scored in Cubs games this season is 8.4, and their over/under record is 50-62.
The Cubs, who are 5th in the NL Central, are nine games behind the Brewers. They have a 31-27 record at home and a 25-33 record on the road. Overall, Chicago is 56-60, and against NL Central teams, they are 17-26.
Through 20 starts, Javier Assad has a record of 5-3 and an ERA of 3.19. He has made four quality starts this season and is coming off an outing in which he gave up just one earned run in four innings of work. In that outing vs. the Cardinals, he gave up three hits, issued four walks, and gave up one homer. Assad's ERA at home is 2.31 compared to 4.57 on the road. One issue for Assad has been his control, as he is giving up 4.1 walks per nine innings compared to 8.12 strikeouts. The right-hander has made 10 starts at home and 10 on the road.
Heading into today's game, the Cubs are 19th in the league in scoring at 4.2 runs per game. They have been a little better on the road, averaging 4.3 runs per contest. As a team, the Cubs are batting just .234, which is 18th in the league, and their on-base percentage of .309 is also below average. Chicago's offense has been led by Ian Happ and Isaac Paredes, who are tied for the team lead with 17 homers. Happ also leads the team with 62 RBIs.
Nico Hoerner has been swinging the bat well for the Cubs, going 10/30 in his last seven games and is batting .256 for the season. Seiya Suzuki is also near the top of the Cubs' home run and batting average rankings, as he is hitting .273 and has 16 homers. The Cubs will be looking for Michael Busch to get going, as he is just 5/21 in his last seven games.
Twins vs. Cubs Prediction: Cubs ML +120
The Cubs are our pick to win this one straight up, and with a money line payout of +120, we see a lot of value in picking the Cubs to get the win. Looking at the starting pitchers, our projections have both Joe Ryan and Javier Assad finishing with five strikeouts. However, we have Assad finishing with a better chance of picking up the win.
If you're looking for a prediction on the score, we have the Cubs winning this one 5-4. As for the Twins, we don't see them having a great day at the plate, with our projections having them finishing with just eight hits, and they are also towards the bottom of the league in terms of projected home runs.
