Orioles vs Cubs Picks & Odds (June 16)

Published: June 15, 2023 at 8:17 pm EDT

Austin Hays celebrates with Anthony Santander — Jun 15, 2023; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles left fielder Austin Hays (21) celebrates with right fielder Anthony Santander (25) after hitting a home run during the eighth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Orioles are in Chicago to open a 3-game set vs the Cubs Friday afternoon
Baltimore owns the second-best record in Major League Baseball
Don’t miss the latest Orioles vs Cubs picks and starting pitchers below

Two teams on an upward trajectory clash in the Windy City, as the Chicago Cubs (31-37, 17-17 home) host the Baltimore Orioles (43-25, 21-12 away).

Baltimore has been one of the best surprises in baseball, with the second-best record in the major leagues behind only division-rival Tampa. They’ve reeled off six wins in their last seven games.

After dropping a season-worst 10 games under .500, the Cubbies have settled into a nice groove, with wins in five of their last six games.

The opener of this 3-game set goes Friday (June 16) at 2:20pm ET from Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL. You can watch the game live on MLB Network.

Orioles vs Cubs Odds

Team	Moneyline	Runline	Total
Baltimore Orioles	-129	OFF	OFF
Chicago Cubs	-106	OFF	OFF

The O’s are a slight betting favorite in the MLB odds, at -129 on the moneyline, an implied win probability of 56.33%.

At 21-12 on the road, Baltimore owns the best away mark in the American League, and second in the bigs only to the Atlanta Braves. They’re also an MLB-best 9-3 against the spread as a road favorite.

The Cubs just found their way back to .500 at Wrigley, and while they’re a distant fourth in the NationaL League Central, they are just 3.5 games back of the front-running Pittsburgh Pirates.

Odds as of June 15 at Caesars Sportsbook. Check out SBD’s Caesars review or another one of North America’s top sports betting sites.

Probable Pitchers

The Orioles will send lefty Cole Irvin to the mound Friday afternoon, just his fifth start of the season. He is coming off his first win of the campaign, a 6-1 decision over the KC Royals.

Irvin went 5.1 innings, scattering six hits and surrendering just one earned run. He didn’t walk a batter while striking out five.

Cole Irvin, Dirty 78mph Curveball. 😨 pic.twitter.com/CuqqSIxxeQ

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 10, 2023

He had a short relief appearance against the Blue Jays prior to that start, retiring just one batter in a 6-5 win over Toronto that went 10 innings.

Irvin’s start previous to KC was forgettable, as he was shelled for six earned runs in just four innings of work against the Oakland A’s. He walked two and struck out four, though the O’s did come back and win 8-7.

Irvin vs Hendricks Stats

Cole Irvin

Kyle Hendricks

1-2	Record	1-2
7.85	ERA	3.09
1.75	WHIP	1.07
.379	OBA	.277
2.25	SO/W Ratio	2.50

Kyle Hendricks will also be making his fifth start of the year, and the righty will look for his second straight win.

He was lights-out in his previous start, giving up just one hit over eight innings, striking out three and walking one as the Cubs topped the San Francisco Giants 4-0.

It was a nice outing after getting lit up last start, giving up six hits and four earned runs across six innings in a 5-0 loss to the Padres.

Hendricks is a career 9-11 with a 3.25 ERA in 34 inter-league starts, though he does have a nearly 4:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Baltimore vs Chicago Recent Results

The Orioles took the rubber match of a three-game set with a 4-2 win over the Blue Jays on Thursday.

Adley Rutschman and Austin Hays both went yard, while, Anthony Santander broke a 2-2 tie with an RBI single in the the sixth.

The Oriole are among the top scoring teams in the majors, putting up 4.99 runs per game, which ranks seventh. They’re also a top-10 unit in batting average, slugging percentage and OPS.

That’s helped prop up a pitching staff that is 12th in ERA, and 24th in batting average allowed.

Happ gon' Happ 🤷‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/4eIECKRdkk

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) June 16, 2023

Chicago put the finishing touches on a sweep of the Central-leading Pirates with a 7-2 win Thursday night. Christopher Morel and Ian Happ each had three hits and drove in a pair of runs.

The Cubs rank 18th in scoring at 4.4 per contest, but they did a number on Pittsburgh pitching, scoring 28 runs in the sweep.

Their pitching is in the bottom half of the pack with a 4.15 ERA (17th), 1.28 WHIP (18th) with teams hitting .243 against them (13th).

Orioles vs Cubs Prediction

Despite a blistering start to the campaign, Baltimore has struggled in this head-to-head, going just 3-7 in their last 10 against the Cubbies.

While they’ve hovered around .500 at Wrigley, the Cubs are a top-10 team as a home ‘dog, going 6-5 in 11 games.

Despite those numbers, lets roll with the birds, who have been a tough out on the road this season.

Pick: Orioles ML (-129)

Eric Rosales

Sports Writer & Editor

Having worked in and around sports since 1997, Eric is truly a knowledgeable expert. The two-time journalism grad specializes in all things NBA and NFL. From TSN.ca to CTV's Olympic Broadcast Consortium, Eric's work has appeared in local and national publications alike.

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