Cubs vs. Yankees prediction and odds for Sunday, July 9

Yesterday, the New York Yankees took Game 2 of this interleague series with the Chicago Cubs to set up a rubber match today. Giancarlo Stanton carried the offense in that one with two home runs to get the Yanks to 49-41, third place in the AL East. The Cubs are 41-47 third in the NL Central. 

For the rubber match Kyle Hendricks will be on the mound for the Cubs making his ninth start of the season. Hendricks is 3-3 with a 2.64 ERA and will be opposed by Domingo German. German is 5-5 in 16 starts with a 4.52 ERA. 

Let’s get into the odds for the rubber match between two of the most storied franchises in baseball at Yankee Stadium today. 

Cubs vs. Yankees odds, run line and total

Cubs vs. Yankees prediction and pick

Kyle Hendricks has been fantastic for the Cubs this season with his 2.64 ERA, but has a 3.46 FIP and a 4.01 expected ERA.

Hendricks will always struggle in those types of numbers because he is consistently at the bottom of the league in strikeout percentage. Though, this season is a career low, 14.4% which is in the fourth percentile of the league.

Hendricks is a crafty veteran capable of inducing soft contact, but with that little swing and miss stuff he is going to struggle at some point this year. 

I’ll be fading Hendricks a bit today, but Domingo German isn’t a pitcher I’m particularly interested in backing every time out. So, this might be a spot to trust the bats.

The Cubs are 23rd in team OPS over the past week and the Yankees aren’t much better at 21st, but with Giancarlo Stanton finding his swing lately New York has the power threat that they’re missing in Aaron Judge.

It hasn’t made them a great offensive team, but they’re at least a viable lineup with Stanton’s 1.023 OPS over the past week. 

The Cubs are 5-3 in Hendricks’ starts this season, but with his elevated FIP and the fact that he’s allowed six unearned runs to go with his 14 earned runs tells me that I should be fading him, so that’s what I’ll do. Hopefully Stanton didn’t use up all the power yesterday. Let’s take the Yankees. 

Follow all Josh Yourish’s bets HERE

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change