MLB Betting Picks: Chicago Cubs at Atlanta Braves
Added on Jul 03, 2012 by Jack Thurman in
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National League baseball action on Tuesday as the Chicago Cubs travel to Turner Field to take on the Atlanta Braves. Chicago is mired in last place in the NL Central and enter today’s action tied with Colorado for the worst record in Major League Baseball. The Braves are in the middle of the pack in the NL East but it’s been far from a typical season for ‘America’s Team’. Atlanta usually dominates at home and struggles on the road but currently they’ve got a winning record away from home and are under .500 at Turner Field.
Chicago Cubs at Atlanta Braves
July 3, 2012 4:10 PM Pacific
The Cubs are coming off a big upset win over Atlanta on Monday night cashing a nice ticket for baseball bettors as a +185 underdog. Don’t expect ‘lightning to strike twice’ in the second game of the series. Chicago is 30-49 on the year which represents a -13.1 unit loss. They’ve been dismal on the road posting a record of 11-29 for a -12.7 unit mark. As a road underdog in this price range (+150 to +175) they’re 2-8 -4.8 units.
The Cubs will start righthander Chris Volstad and he’s been downright awful this season. Volstad has a 7.46 ERA overall, a 6.50 road ERA and a hefty 10.38 ERA in his last three starts. More problematic, the Cubs have yet to win a game with Volstad on the mound–they’re 0-8 in Volstad’s starts this season including 0-3 on the road. Atlanta will counter with Jair Jurrjens and his YTD ERA isn’t reflective of how he’s pitched recently. Jurrjens was horrible in the early going this year after a stellar season in 2011. The Braves sent him down to the minors to get his head right and since his return he’s looked very good. In two starts since returning to the rotation he’s pitched 13 1/2 innings, allowed only 9 hits and 3 earned runs.
The Braves have to pick up the pace if they’re going to have a chance of catching the Washington Nationals and New York Mets atop the NL East. A strong finish to the season would be typical of Atlanta’s ‘M.O.’ as they often start slow and go on a winning run as the weather gets hotter and days get longer. The Cubs have won 6 of their last 8 games but we’re not convinced–3 of those games were a sweep of the Houston Astros at Wrigley Field. The order of the universe is reestablished tonight as the Braves beat the Cubs.
Bet Atlanta Braves (Jurrjens) -180 over Chicago Cubs (Volstad)
