Royals vs. Cubs Betting Odds, Pitching Matchup – July 26, 2024

One team will end a losing skid when the 56-47 Kansas City Royals (two-game losing streak) and the 49-55 Chicago Cubs (two-game losing streak) meet Friday at 8:10 PM ET. The Royals have been set as -152 favorites by sportsbooks for the contest at Kauffman Stadium. Kansas City’s Brady Singer and Chicago’s Kyle Hendricks have been named the starters for this contest.

Here is our preview for this matchup, and uncover all of our expert MLB picks, too!

Royals vs. Cubs Betting Lines

• Favorite: Royals (-152)
• Underdog: Cubs (+128)
• Over/under: 9

Royals vs. Cubs Betting Insights

• The Royals have come away with 28 wins in the 42 contests they have been listed as the favorites in this season.
• This season Kansas City has come away with a win 16 times in 22 chances when named as a favorite of at least -152 on the moneyline.
• The Royals have an implied victory probability of 60.3% according to the moneyline set for this matchup.
• The Cubs are 26-31 in games they were listed as the moneyline underdog (winning 45.6% of those games).
• When playing as a moneyline underdog with odds of +128 or longer, Chicago has gone 7-4 (63.6%).
• The Cubs have a 43.9% chance to win this game based on the moneyline’s implied probability.

Royals vs. Cubs Hitting Leaders

• Bobby Witt Jr. leads Kansas City in home runs with 18, runs batted in with 70 and his batting average of .344 is also best on his team.
• Among all MLB hitters, Witt is second in batting average, eighth in on-base percentage, and fourth in slugging.
• Vinnie Pasquantino is batting .258 with an OBP of .320 and a slugging percentage of .425 this season.
• Ian Happ paces the Cubs with 60 runs batted in.
• Among all batters in the majors, Happ ranks 40th in homers and 28th in RBI.
• Nico Hoerner has 20 doubles, a triple, four home runs and 33 walks while batting .257.

Royals vs. Cubs Pitching Rankings

• The Royals average the 23rd-most strikeouts per nine innings (8.3) in the league this season.
• The Royals have pitched to a 3.76 ERA this season, which ranks ninth in baseball.
• The Royals rank 18th in MLB with a combined 1.263 WHIP this season.
• The 8.8 strikeouts per nine innings put together by the Cubs pitching staff ranks sixth in MLB.
• Chicago’s 3.71 team ERA ranks sixth across all MLB pitching staffs.
• Pitchers for the Cubs combine for the 13th-ranked WHIP in MLB (1.249).