The Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks battle on Thursday, March 27 at Chase Field. The first pitch is scheduled for 10:10 p.m. ET; the game will be broadcast on Marquee Sports Network and Dbacks.TV.
The Cubs will look to bounce back from a disappointing Tokyo Series when they take on the Diamondbacks on MLB Opening Day. Both teams have the potential to be much improved in the 2025 campaign and are favored to make the playoffs based on current betting odds.
Cubs starter Justin Steele will be keen to author a better outing after allowing five runs in four innings of work versus the Los Angeles Dodgers in his first appearance of the season. Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo has opted to give Zac Gallen his third straight Opening Day start, which means 2021 Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes will pitch Friday's matchup.
Find my Cubs vs Diamondbacks parlay picks for Thursday night below, which features three legs focusing on the moneyline, Justin Steele and Gabriel Moreno.
Cubs vs Diamondbacks Parlay
- Arizona Diamondbacks Moneyline (-130)
- Gabriel Moreno Over 1.5 Total Bases (+155)
- Justin Steele Under 15.5 Outs (-115)
Remember to bet responsibly — this is a long shot for a reason.
Diamondbacks Moneyline (-130)
After winning the NL Pennant in 2023, the Diamondbacks 2024 campaign ended in heartbreaking fashion, as they missed the playoffs based on a tie-breaker despite earning 89 wins and owning arguably the best offense in baseball.
Arizona ranked first in runs scored per game last season and third in wRC+. It was particularly dominant against left-handed pitching, as it finished with a second-ranked wRC+ of 119 and a league-leading .343 wOBA. It seems entirely possible that the Diamondbacks lineup will be comparably dominant in 2025, as the only significant change comes in the form of Josh Naylor taking over at first base after Christian Walker left in free agency.
Corbin Carroll slugged just .334 before the All-Star Break last season, before posting a dominant .568 slug rate and .919 OPS in the second half. He hit .366 in 14 Cactus League games this spring and appears to be poised for a monster campaign.
Zac Gallen posted a 3.65 ERA across 148 innings of work last season, which actually raised his career ERA up to 3.29. He was excellent in four spring training appearances, pitching to an ERA of 2.89 and striking out 9.6 batters per nine.
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While Chase Field is a hitter-friendly ballpark, Gallen has still finished with a better splits at home in each of the last three seasons, including a 3.36 ERA in 83 innings at home last season.
Gabriel Moreno Over 1.5 Total Bases (+155)
Like Carroll, Gabriel Moreno's batting splits improved considerably in the second half of last season, as he posted a .427 slug rate and .847 OPS in the second half.
Despite being just 25, he has already proven to have elite plate discipline and an excellent understanding of how pitchers are attempting to pitch to him. He hit .426 versus left-handed pitching in the final 30 games of last season and was excellent in Spring Training with a .500 slug-rate in 38 AB's.
Moreno has dominated Justin Steele historically, as he has gone 7-for-8 with an OPS of 1.250. There's plenty of extra-base hits to be had inside the batter-friendly confines of Chase Field, and backing Moreno to record over 1.5 total bases holds strong value as he takes on a lefty that he has historically dominated in Steele.
Justin Steele Under 15.5 Pitching Outs (-115)
Backing Steele to record under 15.5 outs looks to be a logical way to round out our parlay. While 15.5 outs does seem to be too high of a line regardless, it correlates well with the Diamondbacks moneyline, as we are counting on a fairly ineffective outing from Steele to help get this parlay home.
Steele threw under 70 pitches in each of his first three outings last season, and did not record over 15.5 outs until his fourth start. It doesn't seem overly likely that David Ross will push his ace too far in this outing with a deep bullpen at his disposal, and the Diamondbacks lineup should wear down left-handed pitchers quite effectively this season.
While it may not be worth putting too much stock into yet, Steele was ineffective in his season debut versus the Dodgers, allowing five hits while recording only 12 outs.
