The Cleveland Indians (26-21) visit the Windy City for a two-game series against the Chicago Cubs (28-20) Tuesday. The first pitch is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. ET at Wrigley Field. Below, we analyze the Indians-Cubs MLB betting odds and lines, with picks and best bets.
Indians at Cubs: Projected starting pitchers
RHP Carlos Carrasco vs. RHP Yu Darvish
Carrasco: 2-4 with a 3.12 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 10.7 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 49 IP over 9 starts.
- Last start: Loss with 7 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 6 K and 0 BB against the Kansas City Royals (Sept. 9).
- Career on the road: 48-33 (99-point higher winning percentage than at home) with a 3.30 ERA (one run lower than his home ERA) and 1.10 WHIP (1.30 WHIP at home).
Darvish: 7-2 with a 1.77 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 11.6 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 in 56 IP over 9 starts.
- Last start: Loss with 6 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 9 K and 3 BB against the Cincinnati Reds (Sept. 9).
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Indians at Cubs: Key injuries
(Get the latest injury news here.)
Cubs
- 3B Kris Bryant (wrist) questionable
- OF Cameron Maybin (illness) questionable
Also see: BaseballHQ Fantasy Baseball
Indians at Cubs: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips
MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 10:10 a.m. ET.
Prediction
Cubs 4, Indians 1
Money line (ML)
The CUBS (-150) and the Indians (+135) have been equal parts weak in the batters’ box this season. Both lineups are below-average and Cleveland is a bottom-5 lineup in most major hitting metrics.
The Cubs have smacked around the Indians in their only two meetings this season by a combined score of 14-3. Carrasco started one of those games and lasted only 4 1/3 innings allowing three earned runs on four hits.
BET CUBS (-150) on the money line. New to sports betting? A $150 wager on the Cubs (-150) returns a $100 profit if Chicago beats Cleveland.
Run line/Against the spread (ATS)
Since Chicago’s money line is so expensive I’d PASS THE RUN LINE in Indians-Cubs. Chicago is only 12-14 on the run line at home and Cleveland is a 14-10 RL team on the road.
Over/Under (O/U)
Darvish is in the midst of a Cy Young season and I love backing him against a bad Cleveland lineup. Carrasco has better road than home splits (written above) and I expect him to pitch better in his second start against the Cubs.
Sixty percent of the Cubs’ home games and 65% of the Indians’ road games have gone Under the total. Plus, Cleveland has a 1-8 Over/Under record as an underdog.
The Under is 6-2 in the last eight meetings in Chicago. I am a little nervous about the weather forecast (10 mph wind blowing toward left-center outfield) but there shouldn’t be a lot of baserunners in this game.
TAKE UNDER 8.5 (-110).
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