The Diamondbacks have been painfully bad this season. They have MLB’s worst record and entered the weekend 11-54 in their past 65 games. Arizona will try to catch a Cubs team that went 2-13 in their last 15 games entering the All-Star break.
Arizona will start Merrill Kelly, who has allowed at least three runs in 12 of his 19 starts this season and is backed by a bullpen that entered the weekend with a National League worst 5.49 ERA.
Zach Davies will oppose him for the Cubs. He has allowed just one home run in 40 innings away from Wrigley Field this season with 7.7 strikeouts per nine innings on the road (compared to 4.3 strikeouts per nine innings at home), with two earned runs or fewer allowed in six of his past seven road starts.
The Cubs have a bottom-five bullpen in the NL the past 30 days, but overall for the year, they entered Saturday fourth in the league in ERA at 3.37.
The Diamondbacks entered the weekend with two players with more than eight home runs this season, and the Cubs entered the weekend having allowed three runs or fewer in four straight road games. The Cubs will make the Diamondbacks continue their miserable 2021.
The play: Cubs, -120.