Rain could play huge role in Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals game on ESPN's Wednesday Night Baseball

Mother Nature has reared her ugly head time and time again to the St. Louis Cardinals (54-28 SU, +21.37 Units) and the Chicago Cubs (44-37 SU, +3.19 Units), and if the forecast doesn't improve, bettors could be in for a tricky mission on Wednesday night in the Windy City.

PITCHING MATCHUP

Considering the fact that these two teams are playing a doubleheader on Tuesday, you can bet that there is a lot of pressure on both Jason Hammel and Michael Wacha to come up big for their respective teams.

Wacha is the interesting man for live betting purposes. We know that he can be a horse and throw the ball 110 times in a game before. However, of late, he has been held back just a bit, throwing no more than 95 pitches in four straight starts.

The right-hander has had no problems in the later innings in his starts, and he has actually had a tendency to get a bit stronger as games have gone on. Keep an eye on Wacha's velocity. He was still touching 94 MPH in the seventh inning in his last start, and if he can do that, he'll be asked to be out there through the 100-pitch mark for sure on Wednesday night.

If there was ever a spot to have a strike-thrower starting, this would be it. Jason Hammel is the perfect man for the job for the Cubs. He has only walked 18 batters in 102.2 innings this year, proof that he knows how to keep the ball in the strike zone.

The concern we have for Hammel is that he tends to pitch to a lot of contact. The Cardinals, who have the fifth-best on-base percentage in the bigs this year, make a lot of contact with the ball and put pressure on fielders.

For our money, this pitching matchup is a real advantage to the Cards, and the deeper into the game it goes, the better chance that live bettors have of cashing in.

ADVANCED STATS

When you look at Matt Carpenter, you see a man who is just fifth on the Cardinals in batting. However, what you don't see from that stat is just how valuable the team's third baseman really is in spite of the fact that he is only 2-for-11 in his last three games heading into Tuesday's double dip.

Carpenter gets on base a ton thanks to his walk rate of 13.2 percent, and his power numbers are no joke. His .170 ISO is third best on the club, and that .444 slugging percentage isn't easily bested.

If that wasn't enough to get you licking your chops, perhaps this will. Carpenter is 9-for-16 lifetime against Hammel.

When you see that Carpenter is about to come up to bat, it's clearly time to bet on the Cards in live betting, because a run-scoring opportunity is sure to be available.

TALKING BULLPENS

The Cubs haven't had a totally battered and bruised bullpen yet this year, but this is a tough stretch for them. This will be 10 games in nine days for the Cubbies, and before the doubleheader on Tuesday, they will have used their bullpen to the tune of 16.1 innings in the first seven games of that stretch.

It's not that that is so many innings, though. It's the fact that so many of those games have required three or more relievers out of the bullpen. Joe Maddon simply can't ask the same men to get up and work on Tuesday twice and then again on Wednesday, and in fact, many of these men who could be called into duty in this stretch have pitched far too often.

Just since the beginning of July, Justin Grimm has three appearances, James Russell has four and Pedro Strop has four. Clearly, these men will be asked to pitch at some point on either Tuesday or Wednesday, and there is a point that live bettors will have to fade them just from the standpoint of pure fatigue.

The baseball betting odds for this game will first be available at BookMaker Sportsbook. BookMaker is going to have multiple betting options available for this baseball matchup. Live wagering during commercials offers and adjusted moneyline, individual inning run totals and next hitter results. Log in, and start gambling during the game now!

BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! The game between the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals will start at 8:05 p.m. ET on Wednesday, July 8, 2015 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL. The matchup will be televised nationally on ESPN.