The Chicago Cubs (44-36 SU, +4.36 Units) might not be the better of the two teams on the field on Tuesday, but the fact that they are playing a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals (53-38 SU, +20.28 Units) could give them a very tangible advantage.
ODDS ANALYSIS
The Cubs, of course, have to really get back to their winning ways against the Redbirds. St. Louis has been favored in all but the first two games these teams played against each other this year, and in those seven recent games, the team is 6-1 and ahead of the breakeven point by 4.73 units.
PITCHING MATCHUP
There's no firm matchup set in stone yet, but it sounds like Jake Arrieta will pitch against either Tyler Lyons or Tim Cooney in this game.
Cooney and Lyons are both more or less just "Quad-A" pitchers, as they both have 5.00+ ERAs while pitching here in the bigs this year. The two men are more or less just filling in for the injured Jaime Garcia and Adam Wainwright in the rotation.
Arrieta though, has been Chicago's best pitcher. He is 8-5 with a 2.80 ERA, and the rest of his splits are fantastic. The righty has 110 strikeouts in 106 innings of work, and he’s only walked 23 batters. His WHIP of 1.03 is excellent to boot.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"When our offense has been down, our pitching has stepped up a lot. I can't remember this string of games when we have had no runs, two runs given up. They have just been kind of carrying us for the last couple of weeks. Hopefully it's our turn to step up and start putting up some runs for them." – Cubs outfielder Chris Denorfia on the struggling Chicago offense
SITUATIONAL BETTING
The St. Louis bullpen hasn't been called into play a ton of late, but just the fact that this is going to be nine games in eight days without an off day is troublesome for any set of relievers.
Expect to see Carlos Villanueva in this game if things get rough for either Cooney or Lyons. The righty has been the long reliever all year for the Redbirds, and he has turned in an awesome 1.65 ERA over 32.2 innings of work, easily the best season of his career.
PROP TALK
The home run ball could be crucial in this game. Both Cooney and Lyons have more homers allowed than they have starts this season, which has us looking for candidates to go yard.
Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant are the obvious answers, but now that he is back from the DL, Jorge Soler could pack a punch as well. The outfielder only has four homers so far in his rookie season, but we know that his power is out of this world when he connects with the baseball.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
If it really is Arrieta who pitches in the day half of this day-night doubleheader, we love the Cubs in this spot, particularly if the wind is blowing out.
Arrieta has done a great job of working deep into games (three straight starts with 7+ innings of work under his belt), and he just doesn't get into that much trouble with the long ball.
Both Cooney and Lyons are gas cans at the major league level, and we suspect that they'll get blown to bits in both halves of Tuesday’s double dip.
Chicago 7, St. Louis 3
The baseball betting odds for this Tuesday game will first be available at BookMaker Sportsbook. BookMaker is going to have multiple betting options available for this televised baseball matchup. Live wagering during commercials offers an 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 St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs will start at 1:20 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 7, 2015 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL. You can watch the contest live on the MLB Network.
