Athletics vs Cubs Prediction & MLB Odds For Wednesday, September 18th
At 2:20 PM ET, the Athletics and Cubs square off in an interleague matchup. This one is being played at Wrigley Field in Chicago, and the Cubs are favored on the money line (-166). The Athletics are 4th in the AL West with an overall record of 66-86, while the Cubs are 2nd in the NL Central at 77-74.
The over/under line is currently at 7.5 runs, and MLBN will be televising this one. Wednesday’s starting pitching matchup features Brady Basso for the Athletics and Justin Steele for the Cubs.
Betting Odds & Lines for this Game
- Spread: Athletics 1.5 (-160) | Cubs -1.5 (+131)
- Total: 7.5
- MoneyLine: Athletics +141 | Cubs -166
All Odds are courtesy of (BetMGM | DraftKings | Fanduel | BetRivers)
Athletics vs. Cubs Prediction: Moneyline
It was a low-scoring game in the most recent game of this Athletics vs Cubs series. Oakland went into the matchup as +132 underdogs and squeaked out a 4-3 win. The A’s had a two-run lead after the first inning, and the Cubs could only muster one run in the 3rd inning. As for the A’s, they scored the game’s go-ahead run in the 5th, and both offenses went silent after that.
Chicago had more hits than Oakland in the game 11 to 9. Ian Happ was the only player for the Cubs to have more than one hit as he went 3/5 with two homers. Nico Hoerner also had a three-hit game for Chicago. As for the A’s, Shea Langeliers and Tyler Nevin each had two hits and drove in three runs.
Mitch Spence got the win for the A’s out of the bullpen, while Mason Miller got the save. Jordan Wicks took the loss for the Cubs.
Oakland is on the road today, facing the Cubs with an overall record of 66-86, putting them 4th in the AL West. The Athletics trail the Astros by 16.5 games in the division race. So far, they are 21-25 in AL West matchups.
The Athletics have gone 4-6 over their last 10 games and are 29-45 as the road underdog this season. As the favorite, Oakland is 12-7 this year, and their overall home record is 36-39. So far, they have an overall series record of 18-25-5.
With a record of 77-74, the Cubs are 10 games behind the Brewers in the NL Central. Overall, they are 21-28 against other teams in the NL Central. The Cubs will be at home today, hosting the Athletics, and they are 39-34 at home this season.
Chicago has gone 38-40 on the road this season. The Cubs have an overall series record of 21-24-3, and they have dropped two straight series at home. As the favorite, the Cubs are 40-36 this season, and they are 25-24 when favored at home. So far, they have gone 37-38 as the underdog.
Athletics vs. Cubs Prediction: Over/Under
The Oakland Athletics are on the road today, taking on the Chicago Cubs. The over/under line for the game is set at 7.5 runs, which is lower than their combined run average of 8.7 runs per game. The A’s have a 71-79 over/under record on the season, and their games have had an average over/under line of 8 runs. When the line has been set at 7.5 runs, they have gone over 14 times and under 20 times. Overall, 73.7% of their games have had higher over/under lines than 7.5 runs.
As a team, the Athletics are 26th in the league in scoring, averaging 4 runs per game. However, they do have the 5th most home runs in the league and have been good at avoiding strikeouts. Oakland is also near the top of the league in isolated power. So far, they have been a better offensive team at home, averaging 4.1 runs per game.
Brent Rooker has been on a tear of late, going 9/25 with three homers over his last six games. For the season, he is batting .302 with 38 homers and 109 RBIs. Shea Langeliers has also been a big power threat, but he is batting just .220 for the season and has gone 3/20 in his last six games. Langeliers does have 28 homers this year, which is 2nd on the team.
The Chicago Cubs have a combined run average of 8.8 runs per game this season, and their over/under record is 71-75. When the over/under line is set at 7.5 runs, their record is 17-16. Overall, 70.2% of their games have had higher over/under lines than 7.5 runs. Today’s over/under line is set at 7.5 runs.
So far this season, the Cubs are averaging 4.6 runs per game, which is 12th in the league. They have been even better on the road, averaging 5.1 runs per contest. As a team, the Cubs are batting .243, and their team on-base percentage of .318 is 8th in the league. The Cubs have four players with at least 20 home runs this season, including Ian Happ, who leads the team with 25 homers.
Over his last six games, Ian Happ has gone 10/28 with two homers and four RBIs. Michael Busch has also been swinging a hot bat of late, going 8/20 with three homers and nine RBIs. Happ is also on a six-game hitting streak, while Seiya Suzuki is currently on an eight-game streak.
Athletics vs. Cubs Prediction: Spread
When betting the run line, the A’s have been a good bet overall, going 83-69, but they have been a much better bet as the underdog, going 76-57. They have been a poor bet as the favorite, going just 7-12. Their average run margin in winning games is +3.2, while their average run margin in losing games is -3.6. They have gone 42-35 vs. the run line on the road this season.
Brady Basso is getting the start for the A’s today against the Cubs. He has a win and a no-decision in his first two starts of the season. In his last outing, he went 5 1/3 innings and struck out 2, while giving up just 5 hits and 1 walk.
When betting the run line, the Cubs have been a better bet on the road, where they are 46-32. They have been a poor bet at home, going 28-45 on the run line. Their average run differential is +0.4, and they have been a better bet as the underdog, going 49-26 on the run line.
Justin Steele gets the start for the Cubs today and will be looking to build off his last outing, where he picked up the win. Against the Pirates on August 27th, he went 5 innings, giving up 2 earned runs, and finished with 6 strikeouts. Looking back over his last three outings, Steele has given up 2 earned runs in each of them. The left-hander has a record of 5-5 this season and an ERA of 3.09. Opposing batters are hitting .214 off Steele this season. He has made 22 appearances and 11 of them have been quality starts.
Athletics vs. Cubs Pick: Over 7.5 Runs -103
Our predicted final score for this game is 5-4 in favor of the Cubs. However, with the Cubs being -166 on the money line, we recommend taking the over at 7.5 runs. You can get the over at -103, and we have the Cubs winning by one run, giving you some cushion.
Looking at the starting pitcher’s projections, Justin Steele is projected to go 6 innings, while Brady Basso is projected to go 5. However, we have Steele finishing with more strikeouts and giving up fewer runs than Basso. Offensively, we have the Cubs finishing with nine hits compared to the Athletics with eight.
