The Cubs and Royals, two of Major League Baseball's traditional underachievers, might not be the inter-league matchup fans dream of, but when bad is playing bad it always makes for fun betting. Beginning with Friday's opener (8:10 pm ET), the Royals will host the Cubs for a three game weekend set at Kauffman Stadium. Oddsmakers for the offshore MLB Odds board list the Royals as -135 moneyline favorites to win the series.
If the Royals and Cubs were in the same division of the same league they would be in a standings battle with KC leading in winning percentage margin by .008. Both clubs have 44 losses while the Royals have 31 wins to 30 for the Cubs. The Royals are mired in a 5-game losing streak and have dropped seven out of their last 10 games. Chicago is even at 5-5 over the previous 10 games and have lost two straight.
Left-hander Bruce Chen, on the DL since May 6, has been activated and is expected to start the game for the Royals. At the time Chen went on the DL, he had a 4-1 record to go with his 3.59 ERA over five starts. Chen made three rehab starts and figures he's good for at least 100 pitches. Chen gives KC's rotation a veteran lefty with a variety of pitches, arm angles and speeds.
Ryan Dempster, a right-hander, will counter for the Cubs. Dempster struggled in his last start and took the loss against the Yankees in which he walked six and gave up three runs on eight hits. After the loss Dempster is 5-6 on the year with a 5.56 ERA. However, he's 3-2 with a 3.22 ERA in his last six starts.
For Friday's game oddsmakers have tagged the Royals as -115 MLB Odds favorites with a posted run total (over/under) of 8 1/2. Odds on the Cubs getting a moneyline win are -105.
