First pitch: Thursday, 7:10 p.m. ET
Line: Chicago -130, New York +120, Total: 7.5

The Mets will be looking to avoid losing their fifth straight game when they host the Cubs on Thursday.

The Cubs hit a bit of a rough patch over the past few weeks, but they immediately snapped out of it with a three-game sweep over the Reds last series. Chicago got it done at the plate in that series, scoring at least seven runs in all three games. The team will be hoping to keep it up against New York on Thursday, but things will be a bit tougher against the Mets’ outstanding rotation. New York has, however, been playing some horrible baseball recently. The Mets have lost four straight games and they just cannot produce runs at the plate. The team has scored a total of eight runs over the past four games and only won 1-0 in its victory over the Braves five games ago. The Mets must start to hit soon or they’ll really fall in the standings in the second half of the year. This matchup features a very good pitching duel, as RHP John Lackey (7-4, 3.29 ERA, 102 K) will be starting for Chicago and LHP Steven Matz (7-3, 3.29 ERA, 73 K) will be on the mound for New York. It is worth noting that the Mets are 25-5 against the money line after six straight games versus division rivals over the past two seasons.

The Cubs are on fire lately and they’ll be hoping that they can pick up another victory on Thursday. John Lackey will be starting for Chicago in this one and he’ll praying that this start goes better than his last one. Lackey allowed seven earned runs in 4.1 innings of work against the Marlins in his last outing. He walked three batters and gave up seven hits and a homer in that one. Lackey will need to be a bit better with his control on Thursday, but a matchup with this lousy Mets team could be just what the doctor ordered. Offensively, the Cubs have a number of weapons that can really do damage in this game. The guys to really keep an eye on are, however, 2B Ben Zobrist (.299, 10 HR, 42 RBI), 1B Anthony Rizzo (.284, 19 HR, 58 RBI) and 3B Kris Bryant (.280, 21 HR, 58 RBI). Zobrist has been a hitting machine all season and has consistently gotten on base for a team that is full of power hitters. Rizzo and Bryant, meanwhile, are the guys that knock him in. Both have some serious power and will be hoping to drive in some runs on Thursday. It’s also important to keep an eye on C Willson Contreras (.333, 3 HR, 10 RBI). The rookie has been outstanding since coming up a few weeks ago and will be hoping to keep up his hot hitting in this one.

The Mets are hoping to end their recent struggles, but they won’t be able to do that without Steven Matz ending his. Matz has really struggled lately, seeing his ERA rise from 2.28 to 3.29 since May 31. He is coming off of a 4.1-inning outing against the Braves on Jun. 24 and allowed six earned runs on nine hits in that game. He also did not register a strikeout and he’ll need to start missing some bats again soon. Offensively, the Mets will need somebody to step up. The most likely candidate to do that on Thursday is OF Curtis Granderson (.228, 13 HR, 22 RBI). Granderson is 10-for-41 with two doubles, two triples and two homers against Lackey in his career. This team desperately needs somebody to provide something offensively and Granderson can really spark his team by just continuing to hit Lackey well in this one.