The Chicago Cubs and the Baltimore Orioles open the second half of the season with an interleague series at Oriole Park. Both teams are looking for a boost coming out of the break. For this series, the Orioles are favorites over the Cubs in the MLB series odds.
The Orioles sit at 42-46, 7 ½ games behind Boston in the American League East, having gone through a significant collapse starting around Mother’s Day after a red-hot start to the season. The Cubs are 43-45, 5 ½ games behind Milwaukee in the National League Central (but they also have five games in hand).
Chicago still has not started to play anything close to the level that they showed in 2015 or 2016, their World Series title season. Thinking about working in some MLB betting this weekend? Check out our series preview.
How to Bet on the Chicago Cubs at Baltimore Orioles MLB Series
The #ESPYS for Best Moment goes to the @Cubs! They defeated the Indians, 8-7, in 10 innings to win their 1st World Series since 1908! pic.twitter.com/EJZSBhU3PK
— ESPYS (@ESPYS) July 13, 2017
Friday, July 14th
When: 7:05pm ET Where: Camden Yards, Baltimore TV: CSN-C (Chicago) / MASN (Baltimore), ABC 7, MASN (Saturday), ABC 7, MASN (Sunday) Stream: MLB.tv Radio: 670 The Score (Chicago) / 105.7 The Fan (Baltimore) MLB Series Odds: Orioles at -111 Pitching Matchup: Mike Montgomery (1-6, 3.75 ERA) (CHI) vs Kevin Gausman (5-7, 5.85 ERA) (BAL) It’s fitting that these two teams open with a pair of starters who are also looking for redemption. Cubs starter Mike Montgomery has struggled in his transition from the bullpen to the starting rotation. In his last start, he only made it 2 ⅓ innings against the Milwaukee Brewers, and he came out of hte bullpen (effectively) on Sunday against Pittsburgh. The Oriole batting order only has two hitters (Wellington Castillo and Johnny Giavotella) who have ever hit safely off Montgomery, so this could be a good start for him. The Orioles send Kevin Gausman to the hill on Friday night. In his last start, he only lasted four innings against the Twins, permitting six runs (five earned) on nine hits, although he did record seven of his 12 outs via the strikeout. If he can keep the strikeout trend going without leaving so many fat pitches out over the plate, his record will improve. In the opener, though, I see those Cub bats leading Chicago to a win to start the series.Saturday, July 15th
When: 7:05pm ET Where: Camden Yards, Baltimore TV: ABC 7 (Chicago) / MASN (Baltimore) Stream: MLB.tv Radio: 670 The Score (Chicago) / 105.7 The Fan (Baltimore) MLB Series Odds: TBA Pitching Matchup: Undecided (CHI) vs Wade Miley (4-7, 4.97 ERA) (BAL) Wade Miley has struggled a great deal this season, but he showed that he may have turned a corner against Minnesota in his last start of the first half. He pitched 5 ⅔ strong innings, permitting just a single run while scattering eight hits. The Orioles also expect to get Chris Davis (right oblique) back from a stint on the disabled list, pending how he feels after the two rehabstarts that he makes over the All-Star break. The Cubs have a lot of talented starters to slide into this spot in the rotation, but they also have dealt with a great deal of inconsistency. Given that Miley looked strong in his last start before the break, I’m going to go with Baltimore on Saturday night.
Sunday, July 16th
When: 1:35 PM ET Where: Camden Yards, Baltimore TV: ABC 7 (Chicago) / MASN (Baltimore) Stream: MLB.tv Radio: 670 The Score (Chicago) / 105.7 The Fan (Baltimore) MLB Series Odds: TBA Pitching Matchup: Undecided (CHI) vs Undecided (BAL) When you don’t know either starting pitcher, it can be tricky to make a solid bet on an MLB contest. In that case, you have to look at the offenses. The Orioles did take their last two games going into the All-Star break, but their offense has struggled — especially Mark Trumbo, who only has half as many (14) home runs at the All-Star break as he had last year. The Cubs, however, don’t seem to be doing any better. They have the sixth-worst record at the All-Star break of any team that totaled 100 more or wins the year before. Manager Joe Maddon had a team meeting last Thursday, and the Cubs promptly went out and took a 11-2 whipping from the Milwaukee Brewers, who lead the Cubs in the east. Because this game is in Baltimore, I like the Orioles to take the finale. However, I would recommend that bettors look at games in which the starting pitchers have been announced — and at teams that have shown some more consistency over the season than these two have.Latest MLB Series Trends
- Cubs are 2-4 ATS in the last 6 games
- Orioles are 2-5 ATS the its last 7 games
- Cubs are 2-4 SU in the last 6 games
- Orioles are 2-5 SU in the last 7 games
- The total went OVER in 4 of Chi Cubs’s last 6 games
- The total went UNDER in 9 of Baltimore’s last 13 games
