The Colorado Rockies and Chicago Cubs wrap up a three game series at Wrigley Field on Wednesday night. The Cubs took the first two games in convincing fashion and they are expected to get the series sweep with MLB odds installing them as -190 home favorites for today.
The young Cubbies should be in for a competitive season in the wide open NL Central while Colorado is expected to be one of the worst teams in the majors. Here are my best free MLB picks and predictions for the Rockies vs. Cubs on April 3.
Rockies vs Cubs odds
Rockies vs Cubs predictions
The Chicago Cubs have named 23-year-old Luke Little their starting pitcher tonight. The lefty also pitched the ninth inning last night where he walked the first batter and didn't allow anybody else to reach base.
Given that all nine of Little's MLB appearances have come out of the bullpen and his work yesterday, he likely won't go more than a few innings or play a big factor tonight. This will essentially be a bullpen game for the Cubs so it's a good thing they shored up that area in the offseason by adding Hector Neris from Houston.
The Colorado Rockies had an NL-worst 59 wins last year and have started this season going 1-5. For years the Rockies have struggled to generate runs away from Coors Field and last season they went just 22-59 on the road with an OPS of .650. They have yet to play a home game this season so it's no surprise they're 24th in the majors in OPS (.586) and 27th in runs per game (2.67).
Infielder Brendan Rodgers was expected to take a big step up this season and give some juice to this lineup. While he was swinging the bat well during spring training he's struggled once the actual season began.
He is just 3-for-25 at the plate with seven strikeouts and not a single walk or home run. The 27-year-old hit just four home runs while batting .258 in 46 games last year and he slashed .274/.326/.434 across 239 games in the previous two seasons so he's never been that productive.
The Cubs don't have a stud on the mound today but they don't need to in order to keep Rodgers and this weak Rockies lineup in check. Keep in mind it will be a damp and humid evening at Wrigley Field with a stiff 17 mph breeze blowing in towards the infield.
There's a reason the total is sitting at 7.0 despite questionable pitching from both sides and the Rockies team total is just 2.5. That number is too low for me to play the Under so I'll take the Under 1.5 on the slumping Rodgers' total bases instead.
My best bet: Brendan Rodgers Under 1.5 total bases (-180 at bet365)
Rockies vs Cubs same-game parlay
Brendan Rodgers Under 1.5 total bases
Cubs moneyline
Nico Hoerner Under 1.5 total bases
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I'm not that confident in the Cubs given their pitching in this clash, but the Rockies have been terrible on the road. They'll also be starting Cal Quantrill who struggled with the Guardians last year and got rocked by the Diamondbacks in his lone start this season, giving up nine hits and five runs in five innings. I'm more confident in fading Rodgers but I'll add the Cubs ML to this parlay.
I'll also fade slumping Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner who is just 2-for-17 with no extra base hits this year. Hoerner didn't have many extra base hits last year either and finished the season with .383 slugging percentage in 151 games.
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Rockies vs Cubs moneyline and Over/Under analysis
- This line opened with the Cubs at -190 with the O/U at 6.5. While the line hasn't seen much movement the total has ticked up to 7.0 as of 11 a.m. ET.
- The Rockies entered this season with the second lowest O/U win total in the majors at 60.5 while the Cubs had a win total of 84.5.
- The Cubs opened their season with a pair of losses against the defending World Series champion Rangers but have won three in a row since.
- The Rockies lost 12-2 last night and are just 1-5 this season with all of their defeats coming by at least four runs.
Trend to know
The Under is 21-11 in the Cubs last 32 games overall (+8.75 Units / 25% ROI) while going 45-31 in Colorado's previous 76 games on the road (+12.45 Units / 15% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Rockies vs. Cubs
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Rockies vs Cubs game info
| Location: | Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL |
| Date: | Wednesday, April 3, 2024 |
| First pitch: | 7:40 p.m. ET |
| TV: | COLR, MARQ |
Starting pitchers
Cal Quantrill (0-1, 9.00 ERA): Quantrill posted back-to-back impressive seasons with Cleveland in 2021 and 2022 but took a massive step back last year, pitching to a 5.24 ERA with a 1.46 WHIP in 19 starts for the Guardians. He's surrendered nine hits and five runs in five innings this season.
Luke Little (0-0, 0.00 ERA): The 23-year-old has made nine appearances in his MLB career with all of them coming in relief. In 8 2/3 career innings he's fanned 12 batters but also walked five and needs work on his command. The towering lefty averages 97 mph on his heater and also likes to use a sweeping slider.
