Such a joy to see these gritty Angelinos taking on those lovable Cubbies and let me tell you right off the bat, no one is wearing mittens in this game! The stage is set at Wrigley Field, the player's paradise, a place where hitters dream and pitchers scheme.
Starting with Chicago’s pitching, Justin Steele is on the roster boasting an impressive 3.706 ERA and a WHIP of 1.103 with an eye-popping Strikeouts-per-nine-innings of 9.3. Comparatively, Griffin Canning, Angels' choice of arm, has 4.902 ERA, 1.362 WHIP, and 6.2 K/9 this season, which clearly puts Steele as the man in the driving seat.
Looking at the players, the Angels might have a silver lining. Logan O'Hoppe has been scorching the turf with a .347 batting average, a bevy of 12 RBIs, and tagging 5 homers. Luis Rengifo's been another strong point, hitting a .302 average. On the Cubs side, David Bote has a resounding .360 batting average, but the rest of the lineup, especially Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki, are no slouches either.
History, as they say, has a funny way of repeating itself. In the previous matchups, Angels seem to have scored a hat-trick over the Cubs proving that they have mastered a technique or two against the Cubs. But one cannot overlook the dismal show by Angels recently, struggling to keep their head above water, while the boys in blue are in relatively better form.
Looking at their regular season records, the Angels at 36-50 are slightly behind the Cubs who are standing at 40-48, just reiterating the fact that the Cubs are in a marginally better form.
So, in lieu of all these details, it looks like the Cubs could come out on top but watch out for those flying Angels. They're going to keep this game competitive to the last out!
Albert’s Prediction: Chicago Cubs by 2