MLB Monday: @RicksPicks44 joins BI for baseball, picking the run total for Cleveland Indians at Chicago Cubs

Cleveland Indians @ Chicago Cubs, 8:05 pm EDT

Projected Starters: Aaron Civale and Adbert Alzolay

The National League Central is heating up, with a tie at the top between the Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers with records at 40-32. The Indians are having a quietly good season, sitting 2.5 games back of the Chicago White Sox and 2 games back in the wild card race. As we approach the midway point of the season, both of these teams could use a sweep in this shortened two-game series here.

Insert Aaron Civale who holds a 10-2 record with a 3.47 ERA and Adbert Alzolay, posting a 4-5 record with 4.06 ERA and you'd think we're in for a decent pitching duel. Think again. Civale has allowed at least 4 runs in three of his last four starts, struggling twice against a poor Baltimore Orioles team. Alzolay is coming off an injury and while he's been better, he allowed 4 runs in 3 innings his last time out.

Both teams have struggled to swing the bat in the entirety of the season, but recently the Indians bats have heated up posting a wOBA of .318 in the last month, good for 11th in the MLB. I expect there to be enough runs in this to hit a very low over of 7.

Pick: Chicago Cubs vs. Cleveland Indians over 7 -120