Chicago vs Toronto Blue Jays Predictions August 12, 2023: J. Steele vs C. Bassitt
The Chicago Cubs (59-56 SU, 2nd in NL Central*) take on the Toronto Blue Jays (65-52 SU, 3rd in AL East) on Saturday afternoon in the second game of the series at Rogers
Game outlook
The Chicago Cubs (59-56 SU, 2nd in NL Central*) take on the Toronto Blue Jays (65-52 SU, 3rd in AL East) on Saturday afternoon in the second game of the series at Rogers Centre. LHP Justin Steel (13-3, 2.75 ERA) will make his 22nd start of the season for Chicago, while Toronto sends out 34-year-old righty Chris Bassitt (11-6 ERA, 3.87 ERA) for his 25th start of the season. The Blue Jays last played the Cubs during the 2022 season and they took two of three games at home. Toronto is the betting favorite opening at -120 and the line hasn't moved. The game is scheduled for 1:10 PM Eastern Time.
Game Info
When: Saturday, 8/12/2023 @ 3:07pm EST
Where: Rogers Centre Stadium Cubs vs Blue Jays Betting Odds Moneyline: Cubs +110 | Blue Jays -120
Spread: Cubs +1.5 (-190) | Blue Jays -1.5 (+165)
Total: Over/Under 8.5 (-110)
Based on the moneyline, the implied probability that Toronto will win straight-up is 55%.
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs have been on a major power streak lately, winning five of six games in Chicago and two out of three games in New York against the Mets. Although they remain 2.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers (62-54 SU) for the NL Central title, the Cubs managed to slice some games off of the Miami Marlins' lead for the Wild Card spot and are now just half a game behind. With an offense that has scored five runs or more in seven of their last 10 games and relevant players like Steele who is 3-0 with a 3.63 ERA and 1.62 WHIP, the Cubs are in good shape. Their power ranking is 2, 5 in offense (scoring an average of 5.06 per game) and 16 in defense (allowing an average of 4.49 points to be scored against them per game). At 59-56, the Cubs are currently injury-free and well poised for their playoff push.