Chicago Cubs vs. Los Angeles Angels Free Pick 6/7/23

Chicago Cubs vs. Los Angeles Angels
Date: Wednesday, June 7th, 9:38 ET
Location: Angel Stadium of Anaheim
TV: MLBN
Money Line: Cubs +114/Angels -135
Total Line: 9

Betting Preview

Here’s our betting preview for the upcoming MLB clash between the Los Angeles Angels and the Cubs on Wednesday, June 7th at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. We provide you with a comprehensive analysis, odds, and predictions to help with your handicapping decision or tail our expert based on the projected lineups and listed starting pitchers.

Betting Odds

Cubs vs. Angels Projected Lineup

	Batting Order	Position
Nico Hoerner	1	SS
Dansby Swanson	2	SS
Ian Happ	3	LF
Seiya Suzuki	4	RF
Mike Tauchman	5	CF
Christopher Morel	6	CF
Matt Mervis	7	1B
Miles Mastrobuoni	8	2B
Tucker Barnhart	9	C
Jameson Taillon	–	SP




	Batting Order	Position
Shohei Ohtani	1	DH
Mike Trout	2	CF
Brandon Drury	3	3B
Anthony Rendon	4	3B
Taylor Ward	5	RF
Matt Thaiss	6	C
Hunter Renfroe	7	RF
Jared Walsh	8	1B
Zach Neto	9	SS
Jaime Barría	–	SP




Straight Up/Over-Under/ Runline Record

Chicago Cubs: 26-34 SU / OU 30-29 / Runline 32-28
Los Angeles Angels: 32-30 SU / OU 32-29 / Runline 30-32

Heading into their game vs. the Angels, the Cubs have a record of 26-34 and have dropped two straight games. In the NL Central, they are in 4th place and have an overall series record of 8-9-2. At home, they have gone 15-16 and 11-18 on the road.

• The Cubs have two straight losses vs. the runline and have a season-long run margin of -0.0.
• The Cubs have been favored in 46.7% of their games and have runline records of 17-14 and 15-14 at home and on the road, respectively
• The over has hit in 51% of the Cubs’ 60 games at 30-29.

On a record of 32-30, the Angels are 3rd in the AL West. Currently, they are nine games out of the division lead. Against the Cubs, they will be seeking their 3rd straight win. On the road, they have a record of 16-17 while going 16-13 at home. Los Angeles’ overall series record is 9-9-1.

• The Angels have covered the runline in two straight games and have a season-long run margin of 0.1.
• The Angels have been favored in 54.8% of their games and have runline records of 12-17 and 18-15 at home and on the road, respectively
• The over has hit in 52% of the Angels’ 62 games at 32-29.

Pitching Matchup

 

Chicago starter Jameson Taillon enters with an overall record of 1-3 and ERA of 7.05. His ERA on the road is 8.29 and 8.79 when pitching at home. Taillon’s season-long WHIP comes in at 1.51 with a batting average allowed of .292. Opposing teams have put together a slugging percentage of .468 against him.

In Jameson Taillon’s last outing, he gave up one run on three hits to the Padres. Taillon came away with the win, as the Cubs came out on top by a score of 2-1.

 

With an overall record of 2-2, the Angels will give Jaime Barría the start. His ERA stands at 1.59 with a K/9 figure of 1.0 after making 13 appearances. Additionally, he has a FIP of 3.11 and an OBP of .257.

Los Angeles is hoping that Jaime Barría can help guide them to another win, as they defeated the White Sox (12-5) the last time he pitched. He finished the game with one earned run on four hits across five innings.

Cubs vs. Angels Offense Outlook

The Cubs have played 60 games so far and are ranked 16th in the league with an average of 4.4 runs per game. In terms of home runs, they are 11th (70) and their overall batting average stands at .246. This includes a BA of .244 on the road and .237 at home.

Chicago Cubs Team Hitting Stats

 

Chicago Cubs Top Hitters: Last Five Games

 

With a total of 83 home runs hit so far, the Angels have established themselves as one of the leading home run hitting teams in baseball (6th). They are currently averaging 4.8 runs per game overall, with a collective batting average of .257. When playing on the road, their slugging percentage is .398 compared to .444 at home.

Los Angeles Angels Team Hitting Stats

 

Los Angeles Angels Top Hitters: Last Five Games

 

Free MLB Pick

At this point in Jameson Taillon’s career, he’s literally a guy who is going to give up nearly as many earned runs as he has innings pitched. He’s been consistently poor, which is a very important variable when handicapping baseball games. We look at game logs to see if a pitcher got “blown up” in one of his outings (example: 3 innings pitched/8 earned runs), because enigmas happen and will give us a false reading on whether the pitcher in question is quality and just had a bad day, or if our prospective fade is a pitcher like Taillon, who simply gives up almost as many runs as he does innings (on a consistent basis). In this case, Taillon has two good starts and seven bad starts. In a perfect world, this would give us a 78% chance of winning, assuming our pitcher doesn’t get blown up. Lucky for us, the Cubs are sucking right now as they’ve lost three of their last four games and in two of those losses, they were shutout.

To bolster our case for betting the Halos, Angels starter Jaime Barria has been one of the better pitchers in MLB this season with a 1.59 ERA. Even more importantly, he’s been white-hot as of late, allowing only one earned run and zero dingers over his last 17.1 innings. That’s good for a filthy 0.51 ERA in the month of May. I feel like a wanker saying any chalk play is a “value bet”, however, I’m happy to lay -140 on the Angels because I believe this line should be closer to -180 (based on recent variables).