Wrigley Field has been good to Chicago Cubs (31-26 SU, +2.15 Units) bettors this year, as they are 15-11 on their home turf. Get ready for yet another nail-biting game on Saturday though, as they will look to win what will probably be another close call against the Cincinnati Reds (27-31 SU, -5.89 Units).
PITCHING MATCHUP
Mike Leake is the type of pitcher who just drives us insane. He's not a consistent pitcher whatsoever, and there really doesn't seem to be all that much of an explanation for why he had a miserable end to the month of May.
He's an easy man to read though, and that could provide us with a good clue about whether he is a good bet or a bad bet in live betting.
Leake allowed at least two runs in one of the first two innings of his three awful starts in May. When he has gotten through that second inning in good shape, he has historically settled down just a bit and gotten the job done.
Do keep in mind that, though Leake has had two good starts in June, both came against the woeful Phillies, which isn't saying much against that offense.
Live betting on Kyle Hendricks, who will oppose Leake on Saturday, is generally always a pretty good idea. He has a history of not giving up all that many crooked innings, and the Cubs are virtually always in the games which he pitches.
Hendricks has surrendered more than one run just three times since the start of May over the course of 43 innings, and if he is allowing less than one in 10 innings to be crooked, you know that he is going to be a much more consistent man to bet on in live betting.
ADVANCED STATS
The Reds are an interesting team to follow this year offensively. They already have 70 homers on the season, largely thanks to the explosive nature of Joey Votto and Todd Frazier, but they are only batting .247 as a team. Their slugging percentage of .407 ranks seventh in baseball and fourth in the National League.
Theoretically, these numbers just don't add up all that well together, especially in a game like this where Mother Nature could make it virtually impossible to put the ball in the bleachers.
That said, we think this Cincinnati offense hasn't even scratched its surface yet at 4.14 runs per game. The club has a BABIP of just .279, a dreadfully low number considering how far so many of those balls travel that leave the yard. The Reds' BABIP when you take out the home runs is just .241, a number which is just unsustainably low.
Things are going to get better for this Cincinnati offense, maybe not from a power standpoint, but from an average standpoint, and that could really come into play in the late innings of this game when the suspect Chicago bullpen comes into the forefront.
TALKING BULLPENS
The Cubs' bullpen scares the snot out of us. Hector Rondon has already blown three saves on just 13 chances this year, and there isn't a consistent arm in that bullpen whom we know can just shut down the Reds for three outs to move things along in the game.
It's not that the ERAs of these pitchers are that scary, as most have ERAs in the high-2.00s or low-3.00s, but there are a lot of clutch outs that they just aren't getting. Tread lightly if you really want to bet the Cubs in live betting late in this one.
The MLB odds for this game will be available first at BookMaker Sportsbook. Gamble on the game between every half inning with BookMaker's live betting feature. Along with an adjusted in-game moneyline, you can wager on what will happen in the next at-bat or how many runs will be scored in the next inning. Live betting is the most exciting way to play!
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