Chicago at Cleveland World Series Game 2 Betting Pick & Odds

The Cleveland Indians have their tails up in the World Series with a 1-0 lead, thanks to a perfect night in Game 1 of the series, where a combination of stellar pitching and lively bats earned the Tribe a much-deserved 6-0 shutout win over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday. Can the Cubs even the series when Jake Arrieta takes to the mound this Wednesday, or will Trevor Bauer and the Indians move to two games away from their first World Series title in nearly 70 years? Get a free online MLB betting breakdown of this game in the preview below. Do take note that the league moved first pitch for Game 2 was moved up one hour to 7:08 PM ET from the initial time of 8:08 PM ET due to potential rain in the forecast.

Chicago at Cleveland World Series Game 2 Betting Pick, Odds & TV Info

.@Indians dominate #WorldSeries Game 1.@Gillette pic.twitter.com/wK1RDTLOkW

— MLB (@MLB) October 26, 2016

Where: Progressive Field, Cleveland, Ohio When: Wednesday, October 26, 7:08 PM ET TV: FOX Radio: Chicago / Cleveland Live Stream: MLB.tv MLB Odds: Chicago (-160), Cleveland (+140), OVER/UNDER: 7

Why Bet on the Cubs?

The Cubs were simply outplayed in yesterday’s loss to the Indians, as Lester and his bullpen couldn’t get their game going while Chicago’s offense went flat-out cold against the Tribe. The onus, and an important one at that, will be on Arrieta to have a better performance as a starter on Wednesday. That’s easier said than done, though, as the former Cy Young winner has struggled in this postseason, going 0-1 with a 4.91 ERA in 2 less-than- stellar starts against the Giants and the Dodgers, with the Cubs losing both games. Still, this is the same guy that had an 18-win regular season and a solid 3.10 ERA, so it’s not like the 30-year- old ace can’t come up big in the grand stage this Wednesday. More than that, Bauer has not been the steadiest of pitchers and the fact that he will be playing with a lacerated pinkie should bode well for Chicago’s offense that can’t perform any worse than they did on Tuesday night.

Why Bet on the Indians?

A scoreless six-inning performance from Corey Kluber, another gem of a game from star reliever Andrew Miller and a solid closing show from Cody Allen allowed the Indians to dominate the Cubs and post the first shutout performance in Game 1 of a World Series since 1990. Meanwhile, Roberto Perez was the star of Cleveland’s offense, powering the Indians with two HRs, including a crucial homer over Jon Lester early in the game to set up the tempo for the win. After such a performance, the Indians should certainly be buoyed of another winning performance this Wednesday. To do so, Bauer will need to out-best Arrieta on the other side of the field. This, of course, doesn’t look favorable considering the Indians’ starter sliced his pinkie while plugging in his toy drone and has been nursing an injury that may limit his efficiency inasmuch as he’s been declared fit to play after throwing 20 pitches in the bullpen on Monday without any problems. In addition, Miller did extensive work in the bullpen yesterday where he threw 46 pitches– his most in any relief outing since 8/4/11, so fatigue could be an issue for him. Even so, Bauer helped Cleveland to wins over the Red Sox and the Blue Jays in this postseason and Miller has been straight-up ruthless to opposing teams, so you shouldn’t be quick to write off the Indians, especially with the likelihood that they could once again get decent run support from Perez, Francisco Lindor and gang.

My Betting Predictions and Picks

It’s scaring to bet against the ‘Believeland’ team right now, as they continually seem to prove that they can just about overcome anything thrown at them. Not to mention, Bauer has played serviceably and helped Cleveland to two postseason wins thus far while Arrieta has struggled and gone win-less in his two starts. That being said, everything is on the line for Chicago, who– I believe–won’t want to fall into a 0-2 hole and all but mess up their title chances. Add that to a banged up Bauer on the mound and a tired Miller in the bullpen after yesterday’s extra shift of work, it looks like the smart betting value here will be on a bounce-back performance by the Cubs to even the series at 1-1. Final Predicted Score: Chicago 5, Cleveland 3 Writer’s Picks: Chicago (-160), OVER 7 Runs