Chicago Cubs at Philadelphia Phillies Betting Odds

Betting Odds

Moneyline: Philadelphia (-210)
Game Total Line: 7
Run Line: Philadelphia -1.5 (+105)
(wagering lines available at 5Dimes)

The Chicago Cubs will look to take a 2-0 lead in their four-game weekend series with the Philadelphia Phillies tonight at Citizens Bank Park after a dramatic win in extra innings in Game 1. The first pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. (ET) and the game will be broadcast nationally on the MLB Network.

Tyler Colvin scored on a Ryan Howard error in the 11th inning to give Chicago a 4-3 victory last night as a 161 road underdog. The win was its second in a row following an eight game losing streak. The Cubs are now 25-36 on the year and 11.5 games behind St. Louis in the NL Central. They are 12-19 at home and 13-17 on the road.

Chicago’s bullpen came up big last night by shutting the Phillies down for the majority of the game after an early rain delay, but those types of performances have been far and few between for a team that has the highest ERA in the National League at 4.75.

The Cubs have also had trouble putting runs on the board this season; averaging just 4.1 runs per game. They have missed Alfonzo Soriano in the lineup, who was put on the DL at the end of May. Carlos Pena leads the team with 30 RBI and Starlin Castro leads in hits with 77.

The fiery Carlos Zambrano will be on the mound tonight for Chicago. He is coming off a superb outing against the Cardinals where he gave up just one earned run on five hits in seven innings of work only to watch his team lose in the 10th. Zambrano is 5-2 this season with an ERA of 3.98 in 13 starts. Lifetime against the Phillies, he is 4-3 with a 3.60 ERA.

Thursday night’s loss was Philadelphia’s sixth in its last nine games. It dropped the team to 37-26 on the year and cut its lead over Florida in the NL East to just two games. The Phillies are 16-14 on the road and 21-12 at home.

Scoring has also been an issue for Philadelphia as inconsistency throughout the lineup has plagued it all season long. The only exception has been Howard, who leads the team with 48 RBI and 13 home runs. The Phillies are ranked 10th in the NL in hitting with a .246 team batting average and ranked ninth in runs scored with 249.

Philadelphia starts this game at the top of its rotation with ‘ace’ Roy Halladay getting the call. Last season’s NL Cy Young winner is 8-3 this year with a 2.56 ERA and a WHIP of 1.07 in 13 previous starts. His last time out, he gave up six hits and two earned runs in seven innings to get the win against Pittsburgh. He has never beaten Chicago and is 0-3 with an ERA of 4.50.

Gary Cederstrom will be calling balls and strikes in this one. He has been fairly steady this season with a 6-7 record against the total line. His called games have averaged 7.93 runs per game verse a league average of 8.44.

Chicago is 13-23 as an underdog this season. The total has stayed ‘under’ in six of its last nine games but is 32-28-1 overall.

Philadelphia is 30-19 as a favorite. The total has stayed ‘under’ in five of its last eight games and is 28-29-6 overall.

Head-to-head, this is the first series between the two this season. The Cubs had a 4-2 edge in 2010, while the Phillies dominated 2009 with five wins in six games. The total stayed ‘under’ the 9.5 line last night and has now stayed ‘under’ in three of the last four meetings.

MLB Betting Pick

With two quality pitchers on the mound, this should be another low scoring affair, but stick with Halladay to come away with his first career win over the Cubs. Take Under 7 runs at 5Dimes and get reduced Juice and 5 Cent MLB Overnight Lines!!