The Chicago Cubs will look to continue their home success against the Miami Marlins on Friday when they meet in the first of a four-game series. Thursday's game was postponed by rain and will be made up as part of a day-night doubleheader on Saturday. The Cubs (11-7), who have won five of the past seven home meetings with Miami, have a plus-15 run differential already this season, second-best in the division and fourth-best in the National League. The Marlins (4-15), who are 2-4 on the road in 2024, are 4-6 in their last 10 games and have a minus-35 run differential, second-worst in the National League and third-worst in MLB. Lefty A.J. Puk will start for Miami, while Jameson Taillon is debuting for Chicago.
The game is slated to begin at 2:20 p.m. ET from Wrigley Field in Chicago. The Cubs have the 12th-best team batting average at .247, while the Marlins are 26th at .216. Chicago is the -169 favorite (risk $169 to win $100) on the money line in the latest Marlins vs. Cubs odds from SportsLine consensus, while the over/under for total runs scored is 9.5. Before making any Cubs vs. Marlins picks, be sure to see the MLB predictions and betting advice from SportsLine's proven computer model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every MLB game 10,000 times. It enters Week 4 of the 2024 MLB season on a profitable 104-82 run on top-rated MLB picks dating back to last season, and it has excelled on top-rated run-line picks during that span, going 18-6 (+766). Anybody following has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Cubs vs. Marlins and just locked in its picks and MLB predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model's picks. Here are several MLB odds and betting lines for Marlins vs. Cubs:
- Cubs vs. Marlins money line: Miami +142, Chicago -169
- Cubs vs. Marlins over/under: 9.5 runs
- Cubs vs. Marlins run line: Chicago -1.5 (+112)
- MIA: The Marlins have hit the money line in 18 of their last 31 games (+5.65 units)
- CHC: The Cubs have hit the game total under in 21 of their last 32 games (+8.75 units)
- Cubs vs. Marlins picks: See picks at SportsLine
Why you should back the Cubs
After a slow start to his season, center fielder Cody Bellinger is starting to heat up. He has a modest four-game hitting streak, but was 2-for-4 with a homer, one RBI and two runs scored in Wednesday's 5-3 win at Arizona. For the season, Bellinger is hitting .200 with a double, triple, three homers and 12 RBI. In 33 career games against the Marlins, he is batting .256 with seven doubles, two triples, nine homers and 20 RBI.
Shortstop Dansby Swanson is also being counted on to supply some offense. Last season, he hit .244 with 25 doubles, three triples, 22 homers and 80 RBI for Chicago. Since hitting well early, he has cooled off a bit of late, but had three hits in the Diamondbacks series this past week, including a 2-for-5 effort with a stolen base on Wednesday. Swanson is batting .235 with two homers and seven RBI. He has a lot of experience facing Miami in his career, and in 91 games is hitting .249 with 13 doubles, one triple, nine homers and 41 RBI against the Marlins. See which team to pick here.
Why you should back the Marlins
Left fielder Bryan De La Cruz has been on fire at the plate, and enters play on Friday with a six-game hitting streak. In that stretch, he has three multi-hit games, two homers and nine RBI. In Wednesday's 3-1 loss to the San Francisco Giants, he was 2-for-4 with a solo home run. The fourth-year player has faced the Cubs in 13 games, batting .296 with a double, two home runs and nine RBI.
Also powering Miami is second baseman Luis Arraez. In his sixth year at the MLB level and second with the Marlins, he had a six-game hitting streak snapped on Wednesday. He was 3-for-4 with a run scored in Monday's 4-3 loss to the Giants. He was 2-for-5 with a double and two RBI in a 6-3 win over San Francisco on Tuesday. In 19 games in 2024, he is hitting .276 with three doubles, three RBI and 13 RBI. See which team to pick here.
How to make Marlins vs. Cubs picks
SportsLine's model is leaning Over on the total, projecting 10.5 combined runs. It also says one side of the money line has all the value. You can only get the model's MLB picks at SportsLine.
So who wins Cubs vs. Marlins, and which side of the money line should you back? Visit SportsLine now to see which side you need to jump on, all from the model that's 104-82 on top-rated MLB picks, and find out.
