MLB Betting: Chicago Cubs at Pittsburgh Pirates

Added on Jul 23, 2012 by Jack Thurman in

MLB

Monday night’s baseball betting card features a NL Central matchup between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs. The Pirates have been a pleasant surprise, and are currently challenging for the division lead just 1/2 game back of first place Cincinnati. For the Cubs, it’s been more of the same–another dismal season with the team mired in 5th place 16.5 out of first.

Chicago Cubs at Pittsburgh Pirates
July 23, 2102 4:05 PM Pacific

A lot of baseball fans and sports betting enthusiasts predicted that the Pittsburgh Pirates would go into the tank after the All Star Break but as of yet it hasn’t happened. The Pirates continue to keep pace atop the NL Central with the Cincinnati Reds and are well poised to pick up a few more victories against a perpetually underachieving Cubs team. The Pirates have posted an impressive 12-5 record in the month of July and have been especially strong against opponents with losing records. Year to date, they’re 27-13 +15.2 units against opponents with a record under .500. They’ve also made money against their divisional foes, going 21-13 +11.6 units.

The Cubs have been playing fairly well in July going 10-7 but are coming off a weekend sweep at the hands of the St. Louis Cardinals. In retrospect, the Cubs’ brief upturn could me more a function of favorable scheduling than any intrinsic improvement in the team and now they’re back on the road where they’ve been miserable this season. Away from Wrigley Field the Cubs are 14-35 -14 units.

Chicago starter Jeff Samardzija has been in good form of late with a 2.37 ERA in his last three assignments. Like the Cubs, however, he’s lost money on the road this season with Chicago losing 6 of his 10 road starts. The Pirates will counter with Erik Bedard who has a tidy 2.95 ERA at home but hasn’t always received support from his teammates–Pittsburgh is just 4-4 in his 8 home starts this season.

Ultimately, however, we’ve got to back the better team and that’s Pittsburgh. They’re in good form right now and need to keep pace with Cincinnati. They’ve won all 3 meetings with the Cubs so far this season and have dominated Chicago in recent years–dating back to 2009 the Pirates are on a 21-13 run in head to head play.

Bet Pittsburgh Pirates (Bedard) -140 over Chicago Cubs (Samardzija)