Chicago Cubs vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction, 4/6/2026 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Chicago Cubs vs Tampa Bay Rays

Date: Monday, April 6, 2026

Location: Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL

TV: MLB.TV

Odds/Point Spread: Chicago (-160) Tampa Bay (+132)

The Tampa Bay Rays (3-5) will try to beat the Chicago Cubs (3-4) at Tropicana Field on Monday. The moneyline on this game has Chicago at -160 while Tampa Bay is sitting at +132. The total is 8. The starting pitchers will be Jameson Taillon and Shane McClanahan.

As a squad, the Chicago Cubs are notching 4.4 runs per game, which has them at 13th in baseball. They have 31 runs while having a team on-base percentage of .315. The Cubs have hit 9 doubles as a unit and have hit 6 balls out of the stadium. They have recorded 29 RBI's and 50 hits over the course of the season, and their average at the plate comes in at .222. Chicago is slugging .342 and have been called out on strikes 59 times, while being walked on 32 occasions.

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They have earned a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.87 and their pitching staff has a collective WHIP of 1.16. Cubs pitchers have given up 9 home runs and 28 runs in total (5th in MLB). Chicago has conceded 49 hits (7.1 per 9 innings) and also 25 earned runs. The Cubs have compiled a team ERA of 3.63 on the campaign (12th in the league), and they have rung up 66 hitters. They have walked 23 opposing batters and their FIP comes in at 4.15 as a unit so far this year.

The bullpen pitchers have inherited 13 runners on the season and 38.5% of them crossing the plate. Cubs pitchers have gone to the mound with runners on 8 times as well as having 5 appearances in high leverage situations. The Cubs have sent 21 relievers to the mound so far this season. The relief pitchers have recorded no holds on the campaign (30th in the league).

The Boston Red Sox have earned 186 putouts over the course of the season, in addition to 67 assists and 3 errors. Their fielding rate sits at .988 which ranks 13th in pro baseball, and have 6 double plays. The Cubs have turned 72.2% of balls in play into outs in their 558 innings, which ranks them 8th in baseball.

Taillon has taken the hill for 1,241 frames and is sitting with 1,076 strikeouts during his career. Taillon (82-60 career win-loss record) holds a FIP of 3.80 while going up against 5,148 batters during his time in the major leagues. His ERA is 3.86 (532 earned runs allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.194. He has conceded 1,184 base knocks (8.6 hits per nine innings) and has had 298 walks.

The Rays have a team slugging % of .391 and they average 5.12 runs per game (7th in the league). They have recorded 13 doubles, while walking 28 times as well as putting up 41 runs. Tampa Bay has accumulated 6 home runs on the season as well as 38 RBIs. They have struck out on 64 occasions (24th in MLB) and have totaled 78 base hits. The Tampa Bay Rays have compiled a team on-base percentage of .345 and a team batting average of .270 over the course of the season.

The Tampa Bay pitching staff have surrendered 49 runs for the year while having a team ERA of 5.29 (40 earned runs given up). They have relinquished 10 dingers and they relinquish 6.48 runs per 9 innings (28th in the league). The Rays have a team WHIP of 1.278 with a FIP of 4.43 as a squad so far this season. Their K/BB ratio sits at 8.30 (63 strikeouts vs 25 walks). They are currently ranked 12th in the league as a pitching staff in total hits surrendered with 62.

Their bullpen pitchers have taken the field 12 times in high leverage situations and also on 8 occasions with runners on. They are currently ranked 29th in the league holding a save rate of 33.3%, and they have dispatched 25 relievers to the hill for the season.

The Tampa Bay Rays have gotten 4 double plays and own a fielding percentage of .953 (30th in pro baseball). The Rays have accrued 60 assists, 13 errors and have a total of 205 putouts this season. In 615 innings on the field, the Rays have earned a efficiency on defense of 69.2% (18th in professional baseball).

During his MLB career, McClanahan has given up 333 hits while totaling 460 strikeouts in 408 innings pitched. He has surrendered 138 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.107 and having a FIP of 3.0. His K/BB ratio is 3.87 and he has gone up against 1,646 hitters in his pro baseball career. McClanahan (33-17 career mark) has a 3.04 earned run average while allowing 7.3 hits per 9 innings.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread or moneyline?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Chicago (-160)

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