Joe Maddon can change his socks again.
Though the always-superstitious Maddon will have to run his socks through the laundry after his 67-49 Chicago Cubs had their nine-game winning streak snapped, there's a great chance the North Siders grab another win on Wednesday against the struggling 56-61 Detroit Tigers.
ODDS ANALYSIS
The Cubs are +9.28 units this year, but have been incredibly impressive since July 29. In that span, they’re 15-2 and +13.01 units.
Detroit has taken a similar step in the opposite direction. The Tigers are only 6-9 since trading away Yoenis Cespedes and David Price amongst others at the trade deadline, and they’ve dropped 1.38 units to drop back to -6.09 units for the year.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Jon Lester is hot right now, as he has allowed two runs or fewer in five consecutive starts and in seven of his last eight overall.
The lefty is only 8-8 on the season, but has splits which suggest he could have 15-wins by now with a little bit of luck.
Daniel Norris is going to have his work cut out for him against a team which is averaging almost a half run per game more this year against lefties than against righties.
This southpaw had a great first start for the Tigers, but has since tapered off just a bit. Norris is leaving a lot of balls out over the plate, and hitters have really connected off of him in his last two starts, managing a total of 15 hits and nine runs, eight of which have been earned over 9.2 innings.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"We all know what's going on here. Have to do a better job. Wasn't a terrible throw. Better than my last one. There are things that I need to improve on. But at the end of the day, we won." – Cubs lefty Jon Lester on a throwing error in his last start against the Brewers
SITUATIONAL BETTING
The fifth inning seems to be the magical inning for the Cubs right now. They've scored in the fifth six times in their last 10 games with many crooked innings to show for their work.
A lot of the damage is coming from the top of the order getting a third crack at pitchers, and if Norris is around long enough to get a third go-around with these Chicago batters, he could be in a lot of trouble. Live bettors should definitely take note of that.
PROP TALK
Miguel Cabrera is back, and if there was any doubt that he is healthy and ready to rake again, go back and watch his home run on Sunday. It's easy to forget that Miggy is batting .352 with an OPS over 1.000 this year, so don't lose sight of his props on Tuesday, even against the tough Lester.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
Lester has a lot of problems which can be masked in this game. For one, he can't hold on runners at all and allowed five Brewers to steal bases against him in his last outing. The Tigers have no speed whatsoever and are generally a station-to-station offense.
Second, he might not be the worst hitting pitcher in this game, knowing that Norris has never had a major league at bat.
But most importantly, he's going against a bad offense which has struggled mightily since trading Cespedes. Yes, Cabrera is back, but we're not sure it's going to make that much of a difference.
Chicago 7, Detroit 2
The MLB lines for this Wednesday contest will be first released by BookMaker Sportsbook. Since this game can be seen by anyone with a TV, BookMaker will have a multitude of wagering options available for it. Outside of the normal lines, you can gamble on real-time moneylines, player props and inning totals. Live betting is open during every commercial break!
Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker's live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here, so start betting with BookMaker today! The ballgame pitting the Detroit Tigers versus the Chicago Cubs will commence at 8:05 p.m. ET on Wednesday, August 19, 2015 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL. The matchup will be televised live on ESPN.
