Chicago Cubs vs Texas Rangers Prediction, Odds and Picks for Friday, 05/08/26

The Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers will open a 3-game weekend series on Friday night in Texas. The Cubs come into this game red-hot, riding a 9-game winning streak, while the Rangers are headed the other way with a 3-7 record in their last 10 games. The Rangers will send Kumar Rocker to the mound, who has a 4.71 ERA in 28.2 innings this season. He is coming off an outing in which he only lasted 2.0 innings and gave up 5 earned runs. Going up against the 2nd-best offensive team in the league is not exactly where he wants to be right now. The Rangers cannot afford to give up a lead because they are the 3rd-worst offensive team in the MLB, averaging only 3.8 runs per game. Their team batting average is only .237.

It appears it will be a bullpen game for the Cubs, which makes sense considering their starting rotation is decimated with injuries. The bullpen game should keep the Rangers batters on their toes, as they will be facing a few different arms throughout the game. It is the lack of offense from the Rangers that is giving the edge to the Cubs. Give me the Cubs to extend their winning streak to 10 games.

Cubs vs. Rangers prediction: Chicago Cubs ML (-135) available at time of publishing. Playable to -140.

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