The Chicago Cubs will commence their onslaught of the National League when they kick Saturday’s slate off in a matinee matchup with a struggling and underachieving bunch of Diamondbacks from the state of Arizona.
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ODDS ANALYSIS
The Snakes were one of the biggest dark horses figured to make hay out of the NL at the outset of the season. Big imports to the starting staff and another year under the belts of a number of youngsters had many of the belief this club had what it takes to give both the Dodgers and Giants a run for their money in the NL West. Through two months of the season, the D’backs have grossly led their season win total backers astray in winning just 23 of their first 55 games which finds them 10 games out and $1047 in the red.
One club that has lived up to its lofty expectations are the Chicago Cubs who went off the futures market as the odds on favorite to win the 2016 World Series. You could have gotten Joe Maddon’s squad at better than 5-1 to pull off the feat before the season began, but now that they’ve stormed out to a dominating 36-15 record, their odds to win it all have been reduced to +350.
PROBABLE PITCHERS
With both Shelby Miller and Rubby De La Rosa on the shelf the Diamondbacks have been forced to look to Edwin Escobar who by no means is ready to pitch to big league hitters. His numbers down on the farm were lackluster to begin with, so it really came as no surprise to see him get lit up in his first MLB start against the Astros. Houston peppered him for 10 hits and 8 runs, seven of which were earned. He only lasted 3.1 innings and looked like a deer in headlights right from the start. Saturday’s outlook doesn’t look any rosier.
The Cubs own the league’s top starting staff ERA at 2.38. While Jake Arrieta gets most of the fanfare, Jason Hammel has done a tremendous job holding down the fort as well. His 2.09 ERA is second best to only Arrieta’s 1.56, and two of his previous three starts were of quality before he was forced to leave his most recent start due to cramping in his right hamstring. Chicago’s coaching staff doesn’t believe it to be serious, so he should be good to go for this one. If so, he’ll have an excellent shot of improving upon his 2-0 record and 1.83 ERA when pitching in the comforts of Wrigley Field.
LIVE BETTING
It’s been quite some time since Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo left the yard. You have to go all the way back to the middle of May to find the last time he pulled off the feat, but with a shaky Escobar toeing the bump with a shoddy pen backing him up this looks to be as good a spot as any for the captain to reach the cheap seats.
Take flyer on his player prop to do just that.
QUICK PICK
This one’s all one way traffic in my eyes. Arizona is simply snake bitten right now; pardon the pun. They can’t do much of anything right, and you just know this Escobar kid doesn’t stand a chance after just letting the Astros rip him a new one.
Hammel has been lights out at Wrigley, and I’m not the least bit worried about the cramping issue from his last start. The weather has only just started to warm up here in Chicago, and it’s likely he failed to hydrate the way he should’ve for that outing. I don’t expect him to make the same mistake this time around.
Get as much of the Cubs on the first five innings line, the full game line and the run-line.
MLB Odds: Cubs 11, Diamondbacks 4
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