Cubs vs. Athletics Betting Odds, Pitching Matchup – September 18, 2024

The Chicago Cubs (77-74) will look to Ian Happ, who is coming off a two-homer game, to lead them in a matchup with the Oakland Athletics (66-86) Wednesday at 2:20 p.m. ET on MLB Network. The Cubs are -164 favorites for the contest, according to bookmakers. Justin Steele starts for Chicago while Brady Basso is Oakland’s starter for the contest.

Here is our betting preview for this game, and find all of our MLB picks, too!

Cubs vs. Athletics Betting Lines

• Favorite: Cubs (-164)
• Underdog: Athletics (+138)
• Over/under: 7.5

Cubs vs. Athletics Betting Insights

• The Cubs have been favorites in 72 games this season and have come away with the win 38 times (52.8%) in those contests.
• This year Chicago has won 17 of 19 games when listed as at least -164 on the moneyline.
• Bookmakers have implied with the moneyline set for this matchup that the Cubs have a 62.1% chance of pulling out a win.
• The Athletics have won 53 of the 132 games they were the underdog on the moneyline this season (40.2%).
• When it has played as a moneyline underdog with odds of +138 or longer, Oakland has gone 22-43 (33.8%).
• The Athletics have an implied moneyline win probability of 42% in this game.

Cubs vs. Athletics Hitting Leaders

• Happ leads Chicago in home runs with 25 and runs batted in with 85.
• Of all batters in MLB, Happ’s home run total places him 31st and his RBI tally ranks him 29th.
• Nico Hoerner has collected 146 hits this season and has an OBP of .332. He’s slugging .358 on the year.
• Brent Rooker paces the Athletics with 38 home runs and 109 runs batted in, while accumulating a team-best batting average of .302.
• Among all batters in the big leagues, Rooker’s home run total puts him fifth, and his RBI total ranks third.
• JJ Bleday has 43 doubles, four triples, 20 home runs and 64 walks while hitting .246.

Cubs vs. Athletics Pitching Rankings

• The Cubs average the 12th-most strikeouts per nine innings (8.6) in the league this season.
• The Cubs have the ninth-best ERA (3.81) in the majors this season.
• The Cubs have a combined WHIP of 1.249 as a pitching staff, which ranks 13th in MLB.
• The pitching staff for the Athletics has a collective 7.9 K/9, the third-worst in the majors.
• Oakland’s 4.35 team ERA ranks 24th among all MLB pitching staffs.
• The Athletics have the 25th-ranked WHIP in baseball (1.333).