Las Vegas at Chicago

Chicago came into June at 32-28 after a difficult May that exposed the rotation's depth problems. Jameson Taillon takes the mound tonight, and the numbers tell the story clearly — a 5.37 ERA through more than 60 innings, with underlying contact-quality metrics even worse than that surface number suggests. The Athletics counter with a pitcher making just his second career start, one who was tagged for four runs on nine hits in five innings in his debut against Seattle last week. Two pitchers with legitimate concerns means this comes down to lineup depth and bullpen quality, and that is where the Cubs have the clear advantage. Chicago carries more firepower and a deeper relief corps. The Cubs get past the rough starting pitching and win tonight. Take the Cubs.