Guardians vs. Cubs prediction and odds for Sunday, July 2 (Back Chicago as home underdogs)

The Cubs and Guardians have two vastly different games this weekend, with the Cubs winning 10-1 in the opener but then losing 6-0 on Saturday.

For Chicago to get back into the NL Central picture it needs better contributions from the likes of Jameson Taillon. The first year starter struggled in 2023, but is he due some better outings? This could be the perfect spot for him against a lackluster Guardians offense.

Here are the odds and our best bet for Sunday's matchup:

Guardians vs. Cubs odds, run line and total

Guardians vs. Cubs prediction and pick

Taillon has struggled in 2023, posting a 6.90 ERA through 13 starts, but he is owed some better results when the ball is in play. He has an xERA 5.66 and a Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) of 5.26. He has stranded less than 60% of batters and has allowed a career high home run rate. It's been a brutal year all around.

It's been an unlucky year for the right hander, but at least he is facing a bottom 10 offense against righties per OPS in the Guardians.

It also helps that the far superior offense gets to face a fairly lucky Aaron Civale of the Guardians. The righty has an ERA of 3.18 with an xERA of 4.02. He has skated by some bad results with a left on base percentage of 81% while allowing a sub-10% home run to fly ball rate.

The Cubs are above league average when it comes to OPS this season and are in good shape to hand Civale a poor outing, one that's been coming for him for sometime now.

The Guardians poor offense makes them an easy fade as road favorites.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.