Offensive problems have been following the Chicago Cubs (24-19 SU, +2.61 Units) of late, and they might have their issues continue when Jordan Zimmerman takes the mound for the Washington Nationals (26-18 SU, +3.23 Units) takes the ball on Tuesday night.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Zimmerman is a fine pitcher, and he is going to make a boatload of money after the season when he is a free agent. However, his 4-2 record and his 3.52 ERA at this point don't really tell the whole story of how well he has pitched this year.
Advanced stats suggest that Zimmerman has gotten terribly unlucky this year. He has a .318 BABIP when that number was high last year at .302, and he is stranding just 65.5 percent of the men which get on base against him after keeping over 75 percent from scoring in the rest of his big league career.
Kyle Hendricks is going to get the ball against Zimmerman on Wednesday, and we think that he is destined to fail in this one. The righty threw the game of his life against the Padres last week, throwing a complete game shutout with seven strikeouts and no walks.
However, he threw 108 pitches and is going to be on regular rest in this game. Hendricks has only thrown 100+ pitches and then pitched on four days of rest once in his career, and we know that this recipe for young pitchers normally ends in disaster.
ADVANCED STATS
The concern we have for the Nationals in this game is in their defense. They have a negative defensive rating by just about every metric imaginable, and their infield defense is terrible without the injured Anthony Rendon out there.
Zimmerman is a man who pitches to contact for sure, and he leaves a lot of ground balls for his fielders to deal with.
Washington already has committed 35 errors this year, including making four blunders against the Phillies on Saturday.
This could be really good news for men like Anthony Rizzo, Dexter Fowler and Chris Coghlan who tend to put the ball in play in most of their at bats. Take advantage of these guys in live betting for sure on Tuesday night.
TALKING BULLPENS
On one glance, the Cubs and the Nationals have very opposite bullpens. Hector Rondon isn't the most trustworthy closer on the face of the earth for Chicago, while Drew Storen has really done a nice job at the back of the Washington pen.
The Nats are respectable with a 3.15 bullpen ERA, while the Cubs are much less fortunate at 4.14.
However, when you dig a little deeper, you'll see that these two units are actually comparable. The Nats have an FIP of 3.38 as a pen, while Chicago's relief pitching FIP is at 3.67. The Cubs are probably getting a bit unlucky, stranding just 71.2 percent of all runners which get on base for their bullpen as well.
One could say that all of this is a sign of weakness in a bullpen, and there definitely is some truth to that. The Cubs are still metrically worse than Washington in every respect out of the pen. However, we know that luck is bound to catch up to both of these teams and make matters just a little bit closer.
If we get deep into the game, Washington is the more trustworthy team for live betting purposes, but the margin isn't as wide as you might think on one glance.
The MLB lines for this Tuesday contest will first be released by 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!
Need to fund your account before the big game but don't have your computer? No problem! BookMaker Sportsbook now offers a mobile betting cashier so you can deposit money directly from your smartphone. Don't miss out on getting paid because you couldn't bet. Click here, and deposit at BookMaker now! The ballgame pitting the Washington Nationals versus the Chicago Cubs will commence Tuesday, May 26, 2015 at 7:05 p.m. ET at Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL. You can watch the contest live on ESPN.
