The Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago Cubs square off on Monday with the first pitch set for 7:40 p.m. The game takes place at Wrigley Field in Chicago and will only be available on local TV or through an MLB.tv subscription. Shane McClanahan will get the ball for the Rays and Kyle Hendricks will be on the bump for the Cubs.
The Rays came into this season with high expectations and looked to be meeting them through the first few games. They were the lone undefeated team in baseball left standing after the opening weekend of action, but they’ve since tailed off a bit, losing five of their last seven games, and now sit at .500.
The Cubs have been weird so far this season. Seemingly alternating between a win and a loss every time they hit the field. They’ve only won two in a row once and have only lost two straight one time as well. They’re coming off a win over the Rockies yesterday so that probably means they’re due for a loss if the pattern continues.
Rays vs. Cubs
Pitchers: McClanahan vs. Hendricks
First pitch: 7:40 p.m.
Rays local broadcast: Bally Sports Sun
Cubs local broadcast: Marquee Sports Network
Live stream: MLB.tv (subscription)
Moneyline odds: Tampa Bay -150, Chicago +130
Picks & predictions
Moneyline pick: Tampa Bay -150
The Rays are a much better team than their record indicates, but they’re clearly going through a funk right now with all the losses. A win yesterday over the White Sox snapped a four-game skid and the offense exploded for nine runs, the club’s best performance in a nine-inning game this season. McClanahan has pitched well too, striking out 15 over nine innings pitched, though he’s not going to end up throwing a ton of innings, usually hovering around four or five.
Player prop pick: Kyle Hendricks over 4.5 strikeouts (+105)
If the Cubs want to come away with a win, it will fall on the arm of Kyle Hendricks, who has pitched okay through his first two starts. Hendricks has allowed seven earned and 11 hits in 9.0 innings pitched, thanks to a thrashing in his last start by the Pirates. However, he’s gone over his strikeouts already once this season and fell just short against Pittsburgh. The Rays’ offense is averaging 9.10 strikeouts per game this season and 11 strikeouts in their last three games. It’s a perfect spot to deploy some units on Hendricks.
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