ODDS ANALYSIS
After losing nine of 11 games the Marlins strung together consecutive wins taking the first two from the Giants with Wednesday’s dramatic walk-off. Taking to the road isn’t something the fish are looking forward to however with losses in eight of their last 10 away from Marlins Park. It’s been a struggle on the road all season for Miami with a 13-24 record down 8.99 units on the moneyline. The Marlins haven’t won more than two in a row on the road all season. They did however take two of three from the Cubs when the teams met in Miami in early June.
There are no magic tricks to fix the Cubs offense. This is how the front office built the team and this is what Chicago has to play with from here on out. It’s been a struggle for the team recently scoring just 10 runs in the last eight games following Wednesday’s 2-0 extra-inning win over the Mets. The Cubs did win three times during that stretch with all three coming by shutout, including two straight at New York, and the under is 7-1 in that span. Chicago is 20-15 at Wrigley Field this season with the under at 23-9-3.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Tom Koehler (6-4, 3.66 ERA) allowed two runs on six hits over seven innings in a gutsy win over the Dodgers on Saturday. He bested Clayton Kershaw striking out five without walking a batter and showed he’s capable of performing in big games. He’s gone seven innings in each of his last two starts surrendering nine hits and three earned with 10 Ks.
Koehler has a 4.76 ERA and has given up two home runs in 11.1 innings over three games – two starts – in his career against the Cubs.
The Cubs haven’t committed to a starter for this game, but odds are that Tsuyoshi Wada (1-1, 3.73 ERA) will get the ball after missing his last scheduled outing with left shoulder tightness. He tossed two innings against the Dodgers on June 22 before exiting that contest when the injury flared up. If Wada can’t go, look for Donn Roach (0-1, 10.80 ERA) to get another shot. He filled in for Wada Saturday in St. Louis giving up eight hits and four runs in 3.1 innings.
QUOTE TO NOTE
“Everybody knows we do strike out a lot. As they get more experience that’s going to come down. We have a lot of power. A lot of these guys haven’t hit to their power yet. That’s going to go up. It would be easy to get frustrated if you really didn’t understand development and what it takes, how you have to be patient with it. If you step back and look at it in those terms, you go: Whoa, these guys are going to be really good the next couple years.” – Cubs manager Joe Maddon
LIVE BETTING or SITUATIONAL BETTING
The Cubs are bracing for Addison Russell to hit the rookie wall. This will be a major second-half issue for a young team leaning on several key players who haven’t experienced the 162-game season before – much less played meaningful baseball through September and October. With that in mind manager Joe Maddon held Russell out of Wednesday’s lineup at New York and plans to give Russell and Kris Bryant scheduled days off, even with the team struggling to generate offense. The Cubs will need their young stars to produce if they’re going to stay in the wild card race and force their way into the playoffs. Bryant’s had a marvelous start to his career and according to the Elias Sports Bureau he’s the first rookie in franchise history with at least 10 home runs, 40 runs scored and 40 RBIs by the end of June.
PROP TALK
Dee Gordon extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a triple in four at-bats Wednesday against the Giants and is tied for the major league batting lead at .350. Nine times during his streak the lanky second baseman kept it going by collecting a single hit and six times he scored. Gordon leads the majors with 114 hits and is second with 26 steals. Gordon likes to get on base anyway he can and he utilizes his speed and bunting ability to keep defenses and pitching staffs guessing. He’s a pest and the Cubs will have a hard time dealing with him.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
With the raw talent the Cubs have its hard to imagine them struggling for as long as they have. They will break out and facing the Marlins and Tom Koehler is the perfect opportunity. Koehler has been dealing his last few times out but he isn’t Cy Young. Heck, he isn’t even Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Michael Wacha or Jacob deGrom. The sticks come alive for the Cubbies and they get the win behind a long overdue offensive output.
Chicago 7, Miami 4
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Don’t miss out on getting paid because you couldn’t bet, click here and deposit at BookMaker now! The ballgame between the Miami Marlins and Chicago Cubs will take place Friday, July 3, 2015, at 2:20 p.m. ET at Wrigley Field. The matchup will be broadcast live on ESPN2.
