Philadelphia Phillies vs. Chicago Cubs Prediction: Can Shota Imanaga, Cubs Bounce Back Against Phillies?
Philadelphia Phillies vs. Chicago Cubs Prediction: Can Shota Imanaga, Cubs Bounce Back Against Phillies?
The Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs continue their holiday series from Wrigley Field tonight. The Phillies took the series opener yesterday by a score of 6–4 and have been red hot as of late. The Phillies are 7–3 in their last 10 games and currently hold the best record in the MLB at 56–29. The Cubs, meanwhile, are sitting in last place in the NL Central with a record of 39–47. What should we expect in game two of this series tonight?
Phillies vs. Cubs DATE, TIME, AND WHERE TO WATCH
- Date: July 3, 2024
- Start Time: 8:05 p.m. ET
- Where to Watch: MLB Extra Innings
Philadelphia Phillies vs. Chicago Cubs Prediction
This will be the best pitching matchup on the slate tonight, as the Phillies will send out Zack Wheeler and the Cubs will send out Shota Imanaga. Zack Wheeler has been incredible this year, posting a 9–4 record with a 2.73 ERA and 112 strikeouts. His whip is also under 1.00 at 0.98. Wheeler had four quality starts in five outings in June and posted double-digit strikeouts in all four quality starts.
Meanwhile, Shota Imanaga has been the respective ace of the Cubs. He has a 7–2 record, 3.07 ERA, and 1.11 whip. Shota started his first season in the MLB with nine straight starts of allowing two or less earned runs. While he still has been very good, he struggled against the Mets two appearances ago, giving up 10 earned runs in three innings, which made his ERA shoot up from 1.89 to 2.96.
While the Phillies hold the much better record and have the pitcher on the mound with the lower ERA, I like the Cubs to get revenge and take game two of this series. Despite the Phillies having the best record in baseball and having one of the best pitchers in the MLB on the mound today, they are just -115 in this spot. This has to do partly with their injuries, as top bats, Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, and JT Realmuto are all on IL. That is three of their top five hitters, and while they still have great hitters like Trea Turner and Alec Bohm, losing these three is a huge blow to their lineup. Imanaga has struggled in a few outings this season, but he has been effectively dominant in every other start. I expect him to be able to hold down this Phillies lineup that is banged up. On the other hand, while Zack Wheeler has a very low ERA, he has been much better at home than on the road. Zack Wheeler has a 1.76 ERA and 10 starts at home this season but has a 4.35 ERA in seven starts on the road this year. Wrigley Field is not an easy place to play, as the Cubs play very good baseball at home, and I think they can get to Zack Wheeler and give Shota enough run support and take game two of this series tonight.
Philadelphia Phillies vs. Chicago Cubs Pick
3 Unit Pick: Cubs ML +100 CLICK HERE TO SEE WHICH SPORTSBOOK HAS THE BEST ODDS
Philadelphia Phillies vs. Chicago Cubs System Projections - July 3rd
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Article Author
Ben Rajavuori is a handicapper out of Minneapolis, MN. He has been creating sports content for almost four years now and is an expert in all things NFL, MLB, NBA, UFC, and NCAAB. Ben thrives on diving deep into statistics to find the best angle on every bet. You can follow him on Twitter @WeBeatTheSpread.