The finale of a four-game set between the Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants wraps up the MLB betting week on Sunday Night Baseball. Since the All-Star break the teams are headed in opposite directions. The Cubs are not a playoff threat but they are playing their best ball of the season winning their first five out the break to extend their season-best winning streak to six games.
They, along with just about every other team, had trouble against the Giants last season dropping six of seven. It isn’t the same Giants team that won a record 107 games in 2021, though. Losing their first seven games after the break the Giants slipped below .500 for the first time, though they remain in the thick of the wild card playoff race.
Chicago Cubs vs San Francisco Giants Date & Time
The NL contest between the Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants takes place on Sunday, July 31, 2022 at 7:08 p.m. ET from Oracle Park. The game will air live on ESPN with betting options for every game on the 2022 MLB schedule available at BookMaker.eu.
Chicago Cubs vs San Francisco Giants Odds
Chicago Cubs (Check Back Later)
San Francisco Giants (Check Back Later)
Total (Check Back Later)
Season So Far…
The Cubs’ longest winning streak of the season came out of nowhere, which could be a sign that the young team is growing up. Only a handful of players remain from the 2016 World Series winning squad with the rebuild starting just a few years later. It is a good sign that they were able to string some wins together since losing had become commonplace. A 3-2 comeback win over the Mets before the break stopped a nine-game skid and the momentum carried over to the second half. They outscored the Phillies 25-7 in a three-game sweep and continued the strong pitching trend with a pair of close wins over the Pirates.
Pitching has been an issue most of the season, but it’s been a bright spot during the winning streak. In their six wins starters are 2-0 with an ERA slightly above 2.00. If that continues or not remains to be seen, but it is a positive sign for a rotation that boasts a 20-36 record and 4.60 ERA entering this series. They also cashed the UNDER in four of those games. Though they’re playing well, the Cubs won’t be confused with a playoff team entering the series 17-games below .500.
Last season was awesome for the Giants, but let’s face it they played well over their heads winning 107 games. Prior to 2021 the Giants had four straight losing seasons with a combined .445 winning percentage. There weren’t many around baseball assuming another magical run, but at least they would contend for the NL West. Well, they’re well off the pace in the division and struggling to stay relevant in the expanded playoff picture. They dropped seven straight out of the break falling below .500 for the first time since the first week of last season.
There are reasons for the decline, mainly pitching and defense. Through the first 24 games of July they had a .333 winning percentage and their bullpen had the worst ERA in baseball. They’ve also committed a lot of errors on defense, but the miscues that don’t show up in the boxscore are damaging. The Giants are next to last in outs about average, which just adds more pressure to a struggling lineup and staff.
Probable Pitchers
A rebuild doesn’t just include a bunch of young players. Adrian Sampson (0-1, 3.20 ERA) is proof of that. At 30-years-old Sampson is making his mark in the rotation with two solid starts during the Cubs winning streak. He went a season-high seven innings last time out allowing six hits and two runs to Pittsburgh.
Before that he tossed 112 pitches in 5.1 frames limiting the Mets to two runs. In six starts since joining the rotation in late June, Sampson has a 3.74 ERA over 33.2 innings. He pitches to contact with just 21 strikeouts and he’s given up more hits than innings pitched with 1.28 WHIP, but he’s been able to limit the damage and keep his team in games. The Cubs are 4-1 in the last five games Sampson started.
If the Giants were in the middle of a winning streak the antics of Carlos Rodon (8-6, 3.18 ERA) in his last start wouldn’t have been a big deal. The lefty didn’t make any friends after kicking a bat that struck a teammate, saying built up frustration led to his display. It’s easy to see why Rodon was frustrated. He gave up just three hits with 10 strikeouts in six innings, but two of those hits were homers accounting for five runs in a 7-3 loss. Rodon has allowed 10 earned runs over 11 innings in his last two starts and the Giants are winless in his last three starts.
Cubs vs Giants Prediction
It’s good to see the Cubs string together some wins, but the bottom line is that they aren’t good. On top of their recent nine-game losing streak they also had a 10-game skid earlier in the year. And they dropped six of seven to the Giants last season. SF isn’t as good as they were in 2021, but they also aren’t as bad as their recent skid implies. And they’ll turn things around in this one.
Our Prediction: San Francisco Giants / UNDER
