Athletics vs Cubs Prediction & MLB Odds For Monday, September 16th

At 7:40 PM ET, the Athletics and Cubs will face off in an interleague matchup. This one is taking place at Wrigley Field in Chicago, and the Cubs are favored on the money line, with their odds sitting at -197. The money line odds for an Athletics win are at +165, and they are 4th in the AL West with a record of 65-85. Chicago is 2nd in the NL Central at 76-73.

Monday’s forecast in Chicago calls for scattered clouds and temperatures in the mid-80s. NSPCA will be televising this one, and the over/under line is currently at 8 runs. Joey Estes is starting for the Athletics, while Shota Imanaga is on the bump for the Cubs.

Betting Odds & Lines for this Game

• Spread: Athletics 1.5 (-136) | Cubs -1.5 (+112)
• Total: 8
• MoneyLine: Athletics +165 | Cubs -197

All Odds are courtesy of (BetMGM | DraftKings | Fanduel | BetRivers)

Athletics vs. Cubs Prediction: Moneyline

The Athletics wrapped up their series vs. the White Sox with a 4-3 loss on the road. Oakland was the heavy favorite at -173 going into this matchup. Things started off well for the Athletics, as they got on the board with a run in the 1st inning but gave up the lead right away as the White Sox scored three times in the bottom of the first.

Oakland started JP Sears, and he took the loss, going six innings and giving up four earned runs on seven hits. The Athletics also wasted a big game from Brent Rooker, who homered in the 1st inning, going 1/4.

The Athletics are on the road today to take on the Cubs, and they are 65-85 overall, putting them 4th in the AL West. Currently, they trail the Astros by 16.5 games in the division. Oakland lost the final two games of their series vs. the White Sox.

At home, the Athletics have gone 36-39 this year, while they are 29-46 on the road. Oakland has really struggled as the underdog this year, going 53-78. As for their record as the favorite, they are 12-7. So far, their overall series record is 18-25-5.

The Cubs’s offense was hot right out of the gates in their most recent game vs. the Rockies, closing out their series with a 6-2 win. After allowing one run to the Rockies in the 3rd inning, the Cubs responded with two runs of their own. Chicago went on to add another two runs in the 3rd and closed things out with a 3-run 9th. Heading into the game, the Cubs were the slight favorite at -136 on the money line.

Kyle Hendricks put together a good start for the Cubs, going six innings and giving up just one earned run, and picking up the win. Chicago’s offense was carried by Michael Busch, who went 3/5 with two homers and three RBIs.

With a record of 76-73, the Cubs are 2nd in the NL Central, ten games behind the Brewers for the division lead. Chicago will host the Athletics today, and they are 38-33 at home this season. The Cubs have gone 38-40 on the road.

Chicago’s overall record is just below .500, as they are 21-28 in divisional matchups this year. The Cubs lost the series vs. the Rockies, dropping two of three games. As the favorite, Chicago has gone 39-35 this year and 37-38 as the underdog. So far, they have an overall series record of 21-24-3, and they have dropped two straight series at home.

Athletics vs. Cubs Prediction: Over/Under

The Oakland Athletics are on the road today against the Chicago Cubs. The over/under line for the game is set at 8 runs. The combined run average for Oakland’s games this season is 8.7 runs. The Athletics have gone over the total in 70 of their 148 games this season. When the over/under line is set at 8 runs, Oakland has gone over the total 18 times, under 17 times, and pushed once. So far this season, 49.3% of the Athletics’ games have had over/under lines set at 8 runs or higher.

As a team, the Athletics are 26th in the league in scoring, averaging 4 runs per game. Their batting average of .234 is 20th in the league, and they are also near the bottom of the league in on-base percentage and OPS. However, the Athletics have been hitting the ball well of late, with Brent Rooker batting .300 over his last seven games, with two homers and eight RBIs. Zack Gelof has also been swinging a hot bat, going 11/28 in his last seven games.

Rooker is not only the team’s leading hitter for the season at .301, but his 37 homers are 5th in the league and the best mark on the Athletics. He also has 107 RBIs, which is 3rd in the league. Shea Langeliers is 2nd on the team in RBIs (71) but is batting just .219 for the season.

The Chicago Cubs are at home today against the Oakland Athletics. The over/under line for the game is set at 8 runs. The Cubs have a combined run average of 8.8 runs per game this season. Their over/under record for the season is 70-74, and the average over/under line for their games is 8 runs. When the over/under line is set at 8 runs, the Cubs have a record of 11-17-1. So far this season, 50.3% of their games have had over/under lines set at over 8 runs, while 30.2% have had lines set at under 8 runs.

So far this season, the Cubs have been a better offensive team on the road, averaging 5.1 runs per game compared to 4.0 runs per game at home. Overall, they are 13th in the league in runs scored (4.6 runs per game). The Cubs are 17th in home runs and have a team batting average of .241, which is 15th in the league.

Chicago has a few hitters who have been swinging the bat well of late, including Michael Busch, who has gone 7/18 with three homers in his last five games. Seiya Suzuki is also on a six-game hitting streak. For the season, Suzuki is batting .275 with 20 homers, and Ian Happ has gone deep 23 times this season while batting .246.

Athletics vs. Cubs Prediction: Spread

When the Athletics are on the road, they are 41-34 on the run line. Their average run margin on the road is -0.8, and they have covered the run line in 41 of their 75 games as the underdog.

Right-hander Joey Estes gets the start for the Athletics today as he faces the Cubs on the road. Estes has made 21 starts this year and has a record of 7-7 with a 4.36 ERA. In his 22 appearances, he has a WHIP of 1.13 and has turned in eight quality starts. Per nine innings, Estes is averaging 6.73 strikeouts and just 1.84 walks. One of his complete games and shutouts came on the road, where his ERA is 9.09 compared to 3.13 at home. In his last outing, he gave up two earned runs in 6 2/3 innings of work.

Chicago has been a solid run line bet on the road this season, going 46-32, compared to just 27-44 at home. The Cubs have an average scoring margin of +0.4 runs per game this season, and they have covered the run line in 49 of 75 games as an underdog.

Shota Imanaga gets the start for the Cubs today, and he comes into the game with a record of 13-3 and an ERA of 3.03. This year, he has made 27 starts and 17 of them have been quality starts. Imanaga’s WHIP for the season is currently 1.02. In his last outing, he pitched well, going seven innings and giving up three earned runs. He got the win in that outing. Before that, he had pitched at least six innings in three straight starts. Imanaga has been especially tough to beat on the road, coming in with a record of 8-1 and an ERA of 3.4 compared to 5-2 with a 3.89 ERA at home.

Athletics vs. Cubs Pick: Over 8 Runs -103

Our predicted final score for this game is 6-5 in favor of the Cubs. However, with the Cubs being such heavy favorites on the money line, we recommend taking the over, as there is a lot of value in this market.

Looking at the starting pitchers, Shota Imanaga is projected to finish with seven strikeouts, which is the second-best among starters today. As for Joey Estes, he is projected to finish with just four K’s.