The Chicago Cubs get set to battle the struggling San Francisco Giants in the first of a massive four-game set inside Oracle Park from San Francisco, CA. They start this one on the West Coast late, as the first pitch is slated for 9:45 pm.
The Cubs have won four of seven as they entered play on Sunday night against the New York Mets, but they have yet to look very impressive during this little burst of wins. They have had issues all season long with their starting pitching, and they can not always rely on their offense to bail them out when games get tight.
On offense, they have had a hard time with the long ball. They only have one player who has hit more than 10 home runs this season: rising third baseman Christopher Morel, who has clubbed a team-high 14 already. He has shown to be the team's one true power hitter so far, but he has already struck out 67 times. He fanned 133 times last season in 107 games and needs to show more plate discipline.
Chicago will toss out Justin Steele, who sports a record of 0-3 and will be in search of his first win of the season. He has struggled this season after having an outstanding campaign in 2023, when he compiled a brilliant mark of 16-5 with a 3.06 ERA.
The Giants have dropped five straight games and sit 11 1/2 back of the front-running and stacked Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West. They are six games under .500 and need to halt this skid. They will only catch the Dodgers if Los Angeles has an epic collapse because they are just too good of a team to have a bad losing streak.
The Giants are coming into this series off a bad three-game set against the St. Louis Cardinals, who swept them in three straight. The Giants' pitching did not work, as they allowed 20 runs in three contests. If they hope to make an NL Wild Card, they need to get better pitching.
Offensively, there needs to be more there as well. Heliot Ramos is the only power threat in their lineup, as he has hit 10 home runs. He hit only one last season in 25 games. He has played in 41 games this season and is batting .289 as well. He is a lovely young centerpiece they can and will build around.
They have yet to name a starter for Monday's game. The team has a 4.52 ERA and needs to get ahead of hitters more early.
The Giants are 1-4 in their last five games and 0-5 in their previous five games against the spread. They are 17-23 in their road games against the number too. The totals have gone over in four out of their last five games. The Cubs are 3-2 in their previous five games and 4-1 in their last five games against the number. They are 19-19 in their road games against the spread too. The totals have gone over in three out of their last five games.
