MLB Preview: Tampa Bay Rays vs Chicago Cubs

As the Tampa Bay Rays face off against the Chicago Cubs on May 31st, 2023, it is set to be a thrilling MLB match-up at Wrigley Field.

For the Tampa Bay Rays, Zach Eflin will be on the mound. With a recent record of 7 wins and 1 loss with an ERA of 3.17, his performance has been strong. Tampa Bay’s recent record stands at 5-5 in their last 10 games straight up, with an 8-2-0 record on the over/under. Eflin has an impressive record of winning his last 3 games, with the Rays scoring an average of 7.33 runs in their last 3 games. They come into this game after a tight loss to the Cubs yesterday, and they will be aiming to at least win 1 at Wrigley after losing the first 2 games of the series, prior to flying to Boston for their weekend series against the Red Sox.

Meanwhile, the Chicago Cubs have Justin Steele as their pitcher, who has a recent record of 6 wins and 2 losses and an impressive 2.77 ERA. The Cubs’ recent record stands at 4-6 in their last 10 games straight up, with a 6-4-0 record on the over/under. Steele hasn’t had the best of his last 3 games, giving up 19 hits with no wins and the Cubs scoring an average of 1.33 runs in his last 3 starts. Despite this, they are coming off a win against the Rays in yesterday’s match-up, giving them momentum for the 3 game sweep before they travel to San Diego for the weekend series against the Padres.

Looking at the Raymond Report, the predicted total for this game is 8.84 runs, with a forecasted score of 4.61 for Tampa Bay and 4.23 for Chicago. This suggests a close game that might go either way. The SOS (Strength of Schedule) rating for the last 7 games is 53.06% for the Rays and 59.18% for the Cubs.

As the lines stand, Tampa Bay Rays are a -135 moneyline favorite, while the Chicago Cubs are underdogs with +115 moneyline. With these odds, it seems that the Rays are slightly favored to win, but as any baseball bettor knows, the game could go either way.

With both teams having equally strong chances of winning according to the C.O.W. percentages and also an equal chance of the game going over, according to C.O.G.O., this is likely to be a highly competitive game that could lean over the posted total of 9.0. It will certainly be interesting to see how both teams’ strategies unfold and who will ultimately take the win.

Make sure to tune in to watch this exciting MLB face-off between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Chicago Cubs. Get the Full Raymond Report on this game inside our member’s area.