The Chicago Cubs are coming off a devastating loss on Tuesday night where they lost in the 9th inning when the Tampa Bay Rays won in walk-off fashion with a 3-run blast by Brandon Lowe. The Cubs are in a bit of a funk losing four out of their last five games as they come into game 2 against the Tampa Bay Rays in this series.

As for the Tampa Bay Rays, they were coming into this interleague matchup with the Cubs after getting swept by the Baltimore Orioles.

They were finally able to get back on track with some 9th-inning heroics and will be looking to keep this momentum going in this Wednesday night matchup. With that said, We take a look at this matchup to make a Cubs-Rays prediction and pick.

(Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

Chicago Cubs

Chicago Cubs (32-34)?were hoping a matchup with the struggling Tampa Bay Rays would be the recipe that the Cubs needed to bounce back but unfortunately, their woes continued when they surrendered a one-run lead in the 9th inning. This now puts the Cubs at just 4-6 over their last 10 games and 1-4 over their last 5 games.

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The Cubs will be looking to finally right the ship on this road trip in game 2 of their 3-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays. The Cubs will send Javier Assad to the mound who's been solid for them this season.

• He comes into this matchup with a 4-2 record, 2.74 ERA, and 1.22 WHIP.

However, Asaad took his second loss of the season to the Cincinnati Reds his last time out surrendering 5 runs on 7 hits across 5.2 innings while striking out 7.

He gets a better matchup on Wednesday night against the Rays who've been struggling at the plate.

• Even though the Rays scored five runs in Tuesday night's victory, they have just been averaging 2.4 runs and 6 hits per game while just hitting .184 over their last five games.

This bodes well for Asaad to get back on track.

• While the Cubs haven't been as efficient as they should be at the plate they are still managing 4.1 runs, 8 hits, and 4 walks per game with a .234 batting average and .328 OBP.

If Asaad can return to form and the Cubs relievers don't blow a lead once again they have a chance to finally get some momentum going on this road trip.

Tampa Bay Rays

Tampa Bay Rays (31-35)?were struggling mightily coming into this series against the Chicago Cubs. The Baltimore Orioles just swept them in a 4-game series after mustering up just 7 runs. Luckily, a home matchup against the Cubs was just what the doctor ordered for the Rays to finally get back into the win column.

Now they are 4-6 in their last 10 games and 1-4 in their last 5 as they look to continue their momentum on Wednesday night.

The Rays were struggling at the plate yet again on Tuesday night when they had only five hits with no runs and 7 strikeouts until the 9th inning.

• That is when Hector Neris blew his third save of the season when he allowed 4 runs in the 9th inning as Brandon Lowe belted a walk-off 3-run shot to end the game.

They will need more of those 9th-inning heroics during the early part of this game to be successful as they take on Cubs standout Javier Asaad. The Rays will send out Aaron Civale to the mound to combat this Cubs' offense.

• Civale has had an up-and-down season with a 2-5 record, 5.51 ERA, and 1.36 WHIP.
• Despite getting rocked in his last outing against the Baltimore Orioles where he gave up 4 runs on 7 hits in 5 innings while striking out 7, he was dominant in his 2 games before that.
• In those 2 games prior against the Orioles and Kansas City Royals he gave up 3 runs on 10 hits in 10 innings while striking out 8.

Civale has the right stuff to keep this Cubs offense that has been struggling in check giving the Rays a chance to give him some run support.

While the Rays haven't been lighting it up on the scoreboards as of late they still have enough bats to get the job done in this Wednesday night home tilt

CHICAGO CUBS VS. TAMPA BAY RAYS FANDUEL ODDS FOR JUNE 10TH

MONEY LINE

• CHICAGO CUBS: -106
• TAMPA BAY RAYS: -110

SPREAD

• CHICAGO CUBS: -1.5 (+152)
• TAMPA BAY RAYS: +1.5 (-184)

OVER/UNDER (TOTAL)

• OVER: 7.5 (-120)
• UNDER: 7.5 (-102)

BEST ODDS FOR CHICAGO CUBS VS. TAMPA BAY RAYS

• The Tampa Bay Rays are the favorites against the Chicago Cubs. FanDuel currently has the best odds at (-110)

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• The Chicago Cubs are the underdogs in this matchup. DraftKings currently has the best odds at? (+100)
• DraftKings currently has the best odds for the total, which is set at 7.5 (-115) for the over, and (-105) for the under

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CHICAGO CUBS VS. TAMPA BAY RAYS INJURY REPORT

CHICAGO CUBS INJURY REPORT INJURY REPORT

• BEN BROWN - OUT - NECK
• CALEB KILLIAN - OUT - SHOULDER
• JULIAN MERRYWEATHER - OUT - BACK
• ADBERT ALZOLAY - OUT - FOREARM
• YENCY ALMONTE - OUT - SHOULDER

TAMPA BAY RAYS INJURY REPORT

• RICHARD LOVELADY - OUT - FOREARM
• JACOB WAGUESPACK - OUT - SHOULDER
• WANDER FRANCO - OUT - SUSPENSION
• JEFFREY SPRINGS - OUT - ELBOW
• DREW RASMUSSEN - OUT - ELBOW
• SHANE MCCLANAHAN - OUT FOR SEASON - ELBOW

FINAL CUBS-RAYS PICK & PREDICTION

Both the Chicago Cubs and Tampa Bay Rays are struggling right now and are looking for a bit of momentum and life coming into the second game of this series.

What we should expect is a pitcher's duel with Javier Asaad and Aaron Civale on the mound against two struggling lineups.

With that said, it look like the Rays are starting to come around now that they aren't having to face off against the daunting lineup of the Orioles. Expect Civale to shut down this Cubs offense and get just enough run support to extend their winning streak to two games.

FINAL CUBS-RAYS PICK & PREDICTION: TAMPA BAY RAYS (-110)

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