Tampa Bay Rays vs Chicago Cubs Prediction: A high-scoring encounter

Wednesday MLB action will see the Tampa Bay Rays play the Chicago Cubs at Tropicana Field. This will be the first game of a three-game series. Which team will draw the first blood here?

Tampa Bay Rays will come into this game following a series loss to the Baltimore Orioles. In that series, the Tampa Bay Rays lost each game without a win in a four-game series. In that series, the Tampa Bay Rays scored seven runs while conceding 25 in just four games. However, the prior series to that defeat saw the Tampa Bay Rays defeat the Miami Marlins in a quick two-game series, a 5-9 and 3-5 encounter. In the MLB this season, Tampa Bay Rays have a 31-35 record, positioning them 11th in the American League standings.

The Chicago Cubs are coming off a four-game series against the Cincinnati Reds. In that series, the Chicago Cubs could only avoid a sweep, picking a 2-4 win in the finale, having lost the first three games. In that series, the Chicago Cubs scored 13 runs while conceding 17. In the meantime, prior games to that series loss saw the Chicago Cubs defeat the Chicago White Sox in a quick two-game series, ending in identical scores of 7-6. This season in the MLB, Chicago Cubs have a 32-34 record, positioning them 7th in the National League. 

I expect the two teams to come all out for a win here. In their last series, the two teams did not get the best of their games, and in this one, they will look to turn things around. Expect this game to be close, but with the Cubs being a tough team for every side, take them to close the spread.