posted May 15, 2008 at 12:07 in MLB Articles

Cub Nation was witness to a case of déjà vu in Wednesday evening’s online betting affair when Alfonso Soriano opened up the Cubs offensive attack with another home run to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead after the first inning. The bomb was Soriano’s 46th career leadoff homer. It only got worse for SD starter Jake Peavy who only lasted four innings giving up seven hits and four earned runs in his shortest stint of the season. Chicago bettors rejoiced, and got to kick back and relax as the Cubs cashed their backers’ sports wager with relative ease. Ted Lilly was simply fantastic through six innings allowing six hits and four earned runs with a K/BB ratio of 11/1. It was the first time in his career that he posted back to back double-digit strikeout games. With the win, the Cubs now stand 24-16 overall with a one-game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals for the top spot in the NL Central Division. They’ve also made keen baseball bettors some nice bank at Wrigley Field by winning 16 of their 23 overall home contests. As for San Diego, they just continue to struggle and fell to 11 games under .500 overall (15-26), and to 7-16 overall on the road.

Looking to earn his club a split in the four game set will be cagey vet Greg Maddux who’s coming off another milestone after notching win #350 in his last start at home against the Colorado Rockies. “Mad Dog” has toed the rubber eight times this season earning a 3-3 mark with a 3.60 ERA and 1.16 WHIP. He’s allowed 50 hits and 23 runs with a K/BB ratio of 26/8 in 50 innings of work. After winning his first two road starts of the year, Maddux has gone on to lose three in a row as the visiting pitcher where his ERA jumps to 4.94 and he’s allowed 37 hits and 18 runs in just 31 innings of work. He got the best of his former mates twice last season at Wrigley Field, and has a career mark of 9-4 with a 2.79 ERA and 0.94 WHIP in 18 career starts against the Cubs. However, the Cubs have smashed right-handed pitching in the “comfy confines” to the tune of a .300 batting average, and his luck just might run out in this spot.

Opposing him will be right-hander Ryan Dempster whose career has been revitalized after skipper Lou Piniella reinstalled him into the starting rotation. The Cubs have won six of his eight starts this season, and he comes into this afternoon’s outing 4-1 with a 2.76 ERA and 1.06 WHIP. He’s only allowed 29 hits and 22 runs (15 earned) with a K/BB ratio of 36/23 in 49 innings of work, and is coming off a stellar start vs. Arizona his last time out. He’ll look to improve upon his 5-1 career mark against San Diego this afternoon, and the odds of him doing so look great considering the Cubs have won 13 of their last 17 home games.

Oddsmakers opened the Cubs midrange –145 home favorites in today’s baseball betting affair with the ‘total’ yet to be determined. BetUS.com offers all MLB betting odds be it side, total, or run-line, so be sure to login to your account and get your wagers down before today’s first pitch.

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