All who picked the New York Mets to be up 3-0 in the NLCS back in March say "Ay!"
Crickets? Heck, you'd probably have the same crickets just four days ago had you asked the same question. The Chicago Cubs were supposed to put up an epic fight against the Metropolitans for a spot in the World Series, but instead, they're on the verge of being swept out of the playoffs.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Steven Matz has no pressure in the world on him whatsoever. If he gets bombed, the Mets will live to fight another day with the rest of their aces on the hill. If he throws five or six solid innings, that's about all they can hope for. We'll talk about these bullpens quite a bit later on, but Terry Collins has to know that he has everything setup to deliver the knockout blow in this series against a reeling team with a lefty on the mound who has the ability to strike out a ton of batters.
Even if Matz gets into trouble, the strikeout is going to be his best friend in this game, and live bettors should have confidence that he can limit any potential damage because of it.
Joe Maddon knows that he has to win four games in a row to reach the World Series, and as a result, he isn't going to be pressured into throwing Jon Lester on short rest in Game 4 and Jake Arrieta on short rest in Game 5. He's going to stick with his guns and let Jason Hammel pitch in this one.
Listening to Maddon postgame after Game 3, he knows that Hammel isn't throwing all that long in this game. He only lasted three innings in his one start against the Cardinals in the NLDS, and he hasn't thrown more than five innings in a game in over a month.
ADVANCED STATS
Cubs batters are hitting 0-for-25 when leading off an inning thus far in the NLCS. That's a remarkably horrible stat, but it shows why they can't get rallies going. Twenty of their 28 runs this postseason have been scored off of home runs, and that can't continue in this game. If Chicago can get its leadoff men on a few times in this game, all of a sudden, live bettors might have something to work with.
TALKING BULLPENS
The Mets haven't taxed their pen at all in these playoffs. Sure, there's a concern about Jeurys Familia pitching for the fourth time in five days, but he hasn't shown any signs of floundering with just three base runners allowed in 8.2 innings in the playoffs.
The bigger concern for live bettors is that Chicago pen. Seven different pitchers were called upon to finish up Game 3, and that came on the heels of needing three pitchers to clean up Games 1 and 2. No one is going to be unavailable in this game in terms of relievers, but with Maddon refusing to fool with his rotation, don't count on either Lester or Arrieta throwing in relief no matter the situation.
That Cubs bullpen imploded in the sixth and seventh innings on Tuesday night. Trevor Cahill should've finished off that sixth without giving up a run thanks to a passed ball on strike three to Michael Conforto. Instead, the ball got passed Miguel Montero, scoring what turned out to be the winning run. Cahill though, got lucky, as a ground rule double by Wilmer Flores would've been an inside the park home run in any other park.
In the seventh, Travis Wood and Justin Grimm both failed at their jobs as well.
Needless to say, live bettors can't have a lot of confidence in this game from a pitching standpoint for Chicago in any respect.
The MLB lines for this Wednesday 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! Game 4 of the NLCS pitting the Chicago Cubs versus the New York Mets will commence Wednesday, October 21, 2015 at 8:07 p.m. ET at Wrigley Field. You can watch the contest live on TBS.
