Royals vs Cubs Prediction, Pick and Preview, August 21: MLB

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Preview

The Royals are in Chicago Saturday afternoon for the second of a three-game series vs the Cubs.  The Royals took the first game 6-2, with 2 home runs off two hits from Salvador Perez.  The Royals have now won 4 of 5 after dropping their previou 4.  The Cubs were coming off of an 12 game slide, but had won their last 2 games before dropping last night's game to the Royals.

The Cubs continue to struggle from the mound, giving up 132 runs in their last 15, an average of 8.8 per game.  They've scored 54 runs in the same stretch, an average of 3.6 runs per game.

The Royals bats continue to put a modest number of runs on the board, now averaging 4.4 runs in their last 5 games.  

Pitching matchup

Cubs

Kris Bubic (3-6,5.09 ERA) will again start for the Royals.  He has a 5.09 ERA in 21 games (13 starts) in MLB this year, up from a 4.32 ERA in his rookie season in 2020. The second year Royals pitcher had a rough night last time out, surrendering 9 hits in only 1.1 innings last night against the Cardinals (the most he's allowed in a single game this season). Before that he had 5 good games, giving up 8 earned runs over a combined 28.2 innings.  He has a 1.53 WHIP and a K / BB ratio of 1.7 in 2021.  Cubs batters have only seen him 6 times, getting 1 hit.

Reds

Keegan Thompson (3-2, 2.21 ERA) takes the mound for the Cubs for only his second start of the season and first game in August.  The rookie pitcher has an ERA of 2.21, a 1.23 WHIP and a K / BB ratio of 2.04.  In his previous start earlier this season he lasted 3.2 innings and had 2 strikeouts with 2 walks while giving up only 2 hits in the process. Thompson in his last two games has pitched 4 innings, has 4 strikeouts, 2 walks and given up 2 hits.  He has yet to face the Royals.

Prediction

Vegas has this as a pretty even game, but the Royals might be the better choice.  Thompson has been solid for the Cubs in his last outings but he may not be enough to keep out the Royals bats.  The Cubs bats have been inconsistent and even though Bubic struggled last time out, he was solid in his previous 5 outings.  The Royals are winnings of 4 of 5 and we see them taking advantage of the short start by Keegan Thompson and the Cubs bullpen.

PICK: Royals money line (+101)

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