MLB Baseball Betting: Miami Marlins at Chicago Cubs
Friday begins a busy weekend of Major League Baseball action. In the first game on the betting board the Miami Marlins make the trip to ‘The Windy City’ to take on the Chicago Cubs. Miami is currently in fourth place in the National League East and trails division leading Washington by 9.5 games. They come into this series having won three straight–they swept the San Francisco Giants in a midweek series between the teams in Miami. The Cubs have also won three straight sweeping the hapless New York Mets in their mid week series. The Cubs are in third place in the NL Central 8.5 games out of first place but just 2.5 games behind second place Pittsburgh.
The Marlins will start righthander Tom Koehler, a decent pitcher that has been in substandard form this season. The Marlins are 8-6 in his starts but his 3.90 ERA is nothing especially impressive. His performance on the road has been especially problematic–Koehler has a 6.45 ERA in his seven starts away from South Florida. The Marlins are 3-4 in these games. Koehler may not be in good form at the moment but he is in ‘consistent form’. His last three starts are right in line with his season long stats–his team has a 2-1 record in these games and Koehler has put up a 3.92 ERA.
Jason Hammel will make the start for the Cubs and although he’s pitched fairly well this season his team doesn’t have much to show for it. The Cubs are 7-8 when Hammel starts including 3-3 at home but he’s got a 2.92 ERA overall and a 2.20 ERA in his six home starts. Had Hammel gotten a little bit of run support in his assignments to date his W/L profile would look drastically different.
At first glance, the price on the Cubs seems a bit generous–that is likely due to the fact that the Cubs are invariably overpriced at home. Additionally, the Marlins have been an awful road team going 13-24 away from South Florida. Maybe the price on the game is right, however, since at this number we have no interest on the Marlins whatsoever. The Cubs are the better team and they should get this series off to a winning start on Friday.
BET CHICAGO CUBS -170 OVER MIAMI MARLINS
