New York Mets vs. Chicago Cubs Prediction: Can Cody Bellinger, Cubs Get Hot Early?
The Chicago Cubs are in New York, taking on the Mets. Can Cody Bellinger and the Cubs get hot early? Handicapper Ben Rajavuori answers.
Ben Rajavuori - August 7, 2023, 4:27 PM EDT
5 minNew York Mets vs. Chicago Cubs Prediction: Can Cody Bellinger, Cubs Get Hot Early?
The New York Mets went on the road to start August and return home tonight without a single win in any of those six games. The Mets have suffered back-to-back sweeps, one of which came against the Kansas City Royals, the second-worst team in the MLB. Tonight, the Mets will look to win their first game in August against the red-hot Chicago Cubs. The Cubs are 5-1 in August and are coming off a series win against the Atlanta Braves. Can the Cubs come out hot in this one?
Mets vs. Cubs Date, Time, and Where to Watch
- Date: August 7, 2023
- Time: 7:10 pm ET
- Where to Watch: MLB.TV
New York Mets vs. Chicago Cubs Prediction
It's hard to look at how the Cubs are playing right now and not say they are the hottest team in the MLB. Over the last 30 days, the Cubs lead the league in OPS at .873. That is even above some of the other hotter teams, like the Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Texas Rangers. As a team, the Cubs have been hitting .292 since the start of July. They have scored 171 runs over the last 30 days in 24 games, averaging 7.1 runs per game. The Dodgers have scored the second-most with 130. That is how hot the Cub's offense is right now.
Of course, leading the way in this surge has been Cody Bellinger. Bellinger is hitting .391 with a 1.111 OPS. Another player excelling for the Cubs has been Jeimer Candelario, who has a .571 average and 1.545 OPS since Joining the Cubs on August 1st. Tauchman has also been incredible, hitting .351 in the last 30 days. The Cubs have been hot up-and-down the order, showing no real weaknesses in the lineup. This is a scary lineup for any pitcher to be facing right now, and Kodai Senga will have that honor tonight.
Kodai Senga has had a nice debut season in the MLB, sporting a 3.25 ERA with 136 strikeouts in 110 innings pitched. However, Senga thrives on getting strikeouts, and the Cubs have not been striking out very often. Senga is coming off a not-so-great outing against the Royals in which we gave up three runs on 11 hits in 5.2 innings. The Mets lost that game 0-4 and gave Senga no run support, and the same may be true again tonight.
The Mets have looked flat at the plate, and they face lefty Drew Smyly tonight. Smyly has not been the best recently, but he faces a Mets lineup that has been horrible against lefties. In the last 30 days, the Mets have the second-lowest batting average (.206) and OPS (.574) against left-handed pitching, so Smyly should have a better outing tonight against the struggling Mets.
The Mets are favored here because they are a New York team playing at home and have the lower-ERA starter. However, the Cubs are making a serious push for first in their division, have been playing MUCH better baseball than the Mets, and have the hottest bats in the league right now. The Mets do not look good right now and have been playing un-inspired baseball, especially since trading away two superstar pitchers, essentially forfeiting the season. The Cubs should at least be tied after five innings, but I think they will have a lead.
New York Mets vs. Chicago Cubs Pick
2 Unit Pick: Cubs First Five +.5 -128 is currently the best odds. Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds for this pick
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