T.M. Selection: Chicago Cubs.

I like the Chicago Cubs to win this game against the San Francisco Giants on Thursday. The Cubs have been on a heater since coming out of the All Star break and I expect them to continue their run here. They have looked great with a flawless 5-0 record since coming out of the break and their offense has been getting hot in these games too. They are starting to put up a lot more runs in their games lately but their pitching has also been keeping their opponents off the board and I expect them to keep playing well against a struggling Giants team that can't seem to find the win column lately. The Giants have looked terrible in their games lately and they have managed to the complete opposite of the Cubs coming out of the break here. The Giants are 0-7 since the All Star break and their offense has come out really cold, not putting up many runs in their games. They have been swept by 2 different teams now and I expect their slump to continue with another hot team coming into town. Justin Steele (4-6, 4.02 ERA) is up for the Cubs here and he was giving up a ton of runs at the beginning of the year, but he has worked on that and is looking a lot better in his starts lately. He hasn't had many starts lately and he has been pitching a lot of games where he only gives up 1 run or less. I expect him to continue pitching well here with the Giants offense in the shape it's currently in. Alex Wood (6-8, 4.21 ERA) is up for the Giants here but he hasn't been that great this year. He has looked a lot better lately since he hasn't been giving up many runs in his starts, but he hasn't been pitching very deep either with his 2 most recent starts not making it out of the 5th inning. The Giants bullpen has not looked good lately and they will not hold up well with the way the Cubs offense has been hitting. I expect the Giants to get hit in this game and I see the Cubs staying hot here. I like the Cubs to win this game.

T.M. Prediction: 6-3 Cubs.