Chris Boline
• Chicago Cubs vs. Seattle Mariners in the series finale
• Wednesday, April 12 at 2:20 PM ET
• Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois
While it has been a bit of an inconsistent season for the Chicago Cubs, this team is still focused on making it a memorable 2023 campaign for their fans. This week, Chicago has a great opportunity to make quite the statement, as they’ll be hosting the Seattle Mariners at the iconic Wrigley Field. And on Wednesday, the Cubs should take down the Mariners with Marcus Stroman pitching. Stroman has been dynamite this year.
Stroman, formerly of the New York Mets, is 2-0 on the year with a 0.00 ERA. That’s right, in two starts thus far this campaign, the star hurler hasn’t allowed a single run. In the process, Stroman has also posted 14 strikeouts. If he keeps this up, there’s no question that he’ll be headed to the All-Star Game to represent the National League. Stroman is looking like his old self right now, which is awesome.
| Mariners/Cubs odds |  |  |  |  |
| Cubs to win | -120 | -120 | -120 | -120 |
| Mariners to win | +125 | +125 | +125 | +125 |
| Over to hit | -110 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Under to hit | -110 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
With Stroman playing so well, the Cubs have high hopes for ’23 as a whole. Meanwhile for the Mariners, they’ve struggled a bit to get going on offense, but stars like Ty France, Julio Rodriguez, Cal Raleigh and others are looking bright. For Seattle, if they had Luis Castillo pitching in this one, then maybe we’d give them a chance to come out on top. However, Logan Gilbert will be taking the mound for them instead.
According to the best-rated sportsbooks, which includes the reliable Bovada review, the Cubs are favorites with their -120 MLB betting odds. The Mariners have been placed with +125 odds. With Wrigley Field expected to be packed for this contest, we have a strong feeling that the Cubs will make their hometown fans happy. That’s right, we’re going with Chicago as our pick to post a victory on Wednesday.
First career walk-off for @nico_hoerner! pic.twitter.com/Gov2ZUmVZm
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 11, 2023
The under should hit between the Mariners and Cubs
While both of these teams feature impressive offenses, the under should hit between the Mariners and Cubs for this contest. When it comes to the Cubs’ betting odds, people are always going to keep in mind who is pitching for them. As we mentioned above, Stroman is getting the start for this matchup and it wouldn’t be a surprise at all to see him toss 6-7 innings against the Mariners. Not only that, he should keep Seattle a bit silent.
With the Mariners, Gilbert is getting the nod and despite him being 0-1 on the season, he holds a 3.60 ERA. On top of that, Gilbert has recorded 13 strikeouts. Gilbert features a ton of nice pitches, which could be an issue for the Chicago bats. With how well Stroman has looked to start the spring too, this could be an issue for both of the lineups. Stroman would love to improve to 3-0 on the year.
“He’s been great for us,” manager David Ross said in a recent interview on how great Stroman has been for the club thus far this season. “Every time he steps on, you feel you got a chance to win. That’s why you get those types of guys, give them the Opening Day start and get them back around as much as possible.”
200 career starts. Legendary. Thank you all for the love! @Cubs pic.twitter.com/bYkIPikJBn
— Marcus Stroman (@STR0) April 7, 2023
With Ross backing Stroman like this, it’s only going to help him out from a confidence standpoint. Stroman will enter the showdown with the Mariners ready to keep on rocking. With him and Gilbert on the mound, expect a classic pitchers’ duel. The over/under for this one has been placed at seven runs. We think it’s going to be tough for the two teams to top that. We’re going with the under as our pick.
Cubs are looking to make a splash in the NL Central this year
Looking ahead to the rest of the year, the Cubs are looking to make a splash in the NL Central this year. While they don’t have high World Series betting odds, Chicago will still hope to try and get back to the playoffs. That won’t be easy, though, as the Cubbies aren’t getting a ton of love to push for a division title. Most analysts and experts think that the NL Central race will go down to the wire, with the Brewers and Cardinals being the top contenders.
With Chicago at +1300, not a lot of fans are rushing to bet on them to win the division. However, there are also plenty of supporters who think they’ll be able to prove a lot of people run this fall. With Ross as manager, he’s surely getting things on the right track for this young team. Keep in mind that Ross helped the Cubs win the World Series back in 2016, which broke the 108-year drought.
Chicago could look to be aggressive ahead of the trade deadline too. All in all, it feels like things are on the rise for Chicago. This is a young team, but they’ve also got veteran talent, with the list of course including Stroman. Good times are coming for this squad, no doubt about that.
