Tampa Bay Rays vs Chicago Cubs: Preview, Odds, and Prediction | Wednesday, April 20th

Tampa Bay Rays vs Chicago Cubs: Who wins the series rubbermatch?

After an early sweep of the Orioles, the Tampa Bay Rays have dropped six out of their last nine games and find themselves right at .500. The Chicago Cubs have played better than most expected to begin this season, sitting at 6-5. The two teams match up with the series on the line tonight at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

"The #Cubs have shifted the start of tonight's series finale vs. the Rays to 5:30 p.m. CDT due to the forecast of inclement weather later in the evening. Gates will open at 4:30 p.m." - @ Chicago Cubs

The first pitch for this contest has been moved up to 6:30 p.m. EDT due to possible inclement weather in the late evening.

Tampa Bay Rays Preview

Last night's 6-5 win over the Cubs looked very similar to the Tampa Bay Rays identity over the last two seasons when they have been successful. They got out to an early lead, and their bullpen shut the door with 7+ innings of relief. The bullpen has been the strongest part of this team during their postseason runs over the last few years. Manager Kevin Cash has turned an organization with one of the lowest payrolls in the entire league into a real contender. Their two young superstars, Wander Franco and Randy Arozarena, are extremely fun to watch, and they played a huge role in the win last night. Hitting a respectable .249 as a team, the Tampa Bay Rays haven't had issues scoring. The problem has been with starting pitching. Not having ace Tyler Glasnow available right now has hurt. Drew Rasmussen will start for Tampa Bay tonight, coming off back-to-back rough outings.

"He got 'em! #RaysUp" - @ Tampa Bay Rays

With an ERA of 5.00 and a WHIP of 1.00, Rasmussen hasn't been extremely effective early in this campaign.

Chicago Cubs Preview

After taking a series against the heavily favored Brewers on Opening Day weekend, the Chicago Cubs made a statement that they will be a good offensive team. In that series, they faced the three All-Star caliber pitchers the Brewers have and didn't flinch. Through 11 games, Chicago ranks in the top five in the three major offensive categories: team average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. The signing of Japanese superstar Seiya Suzuki has really made an impact on this Chicago offense, as he is hitting .414 with four home runs and 11 runs batted-in in only 11 games. Marcus Stroman will get the start for the Cubs in a nice bounce-back spot for him after getting hit around Coors Field last outing. Stroman does not rely on strikeouts to be effective. Instead, he uses his sinker to get weak contact and keep his infielders busy. The cold, muggy weather could play into Stroman's favor tonight.

Prediction/Pick

Cubs ML (-105)

When looking at recent performances, Tampa Bay is 2-6 on the season as a favorite where they find themselves tonight. Chicago is 7-1 as underdogs to start the year where they have beaten better pitching than they will see tonight. Tampa Bay's bullpen throwing the majority of last night's game causes a lot of them to be unavailable to pitch, so the Cubs seem like they're in a good spot to take the rubbermatch.