MLB Baseball
2026-07-09 - Chicago Cubs at Baltimore Orioles
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States : Major League Baseball
Thursday 9th July 2026 - Scheduled 1:35pm EST
6:35pm (British Time)
Preview
Another home series is going to be lost regardless of what happens on Thursday and the stormy clouds around the Baltimore Orioles (42-51) have also built up above the ballpark. That means this Thursday game has been scheduled to move up from the original time slot with poor weather potentially impacting it and the Orioles are looking for some kind of positive result after slipping into the basement of the American League East.
They finish up this inter-League series against the Chicago Cubs (52-40) who are riding some momentum into the All Star Break and have dragged themselves back to within 6 games of National League Central leading Milwaukee Brewers. The Cubs have won three in a row and this is a team that will see missing the post-season as a massive underachievement in 2026 and so they could be a buying team as the trade deadline comes over the horizon.
One of the players that have been brought into the club is David Peterson and he will be the starting pitcher for this game. He was struggling with the New York Mets and had lost his spot in the starting rotation, but Peterson began with a decent showing for the Chicago Cubs and that would have been encouraging.
However, David Peterson was roughed up last time out in his second start in the Cubs uniform when allowing ten runs and failing to get out of the 4th Inning as he absorbed the loss to the St Louis Cardinals.
David Peterson will take some encouragement from the fact that he has a 1-1 record and 2.66 ERA in five appearances against the Baltimore Orioles. Those have covered almost 23 Innings, but Peterson needs a big bounce back effort.
He will likely be supported by the Cubs batting lineup, which has been key to the improving run, although Chicago are going up against a confident starting pitcher.
Trevor Rogers will be given the ball for the Baltimore Orioles and he has a 6-7 record and 4.70 ERA in sixteen starts for the team in 2026. Matching the 2025 performances was always going to be really challenging, but Rogers has shown signs of getting back to the level that saw him produce a 1.81 ERA in eighteen starts last year.
Over the last six starts since the beginning of June, Trevor Rogers has a 4-1 record and a 1.77 ERA and that has given Baltimore a real chance to win games.
In the one start against the Chicago Cubs, Trevor Rogers held them to a single run in 8 Innings thrown last year, but still absorbed the decision loss.
The Cubs have won seven of the last eight games against the Baltimore Orioles, including both in this series.
Prediction
It has been a series dominated by the Chicago Cubs, but the Baltimore Orioles could not have asked for a better pitcher match up on the mound.
You have to respect the Cubs batting numbers in recent games, but Trevor Rogers is pitching at a very strong level and can give the Orioles the foundation to earn a consolation win in this series.
The Pick :
Baltimore Orioles 5-2 Chicago Cubs
