Posted on
5/6/2008 4:38:38 PM
MLB Online Baseball Betting - Cubs vs. Reds
By Mike Rose
The Reds got the best of the Chicago Cubs in the first game of their online betting series last night, but that’s not to say Chicago didn’t have plenty of opportunities to grab the victory. Ryan Dempster was hurt by his defense that committed a pair of errors leading to all five of the runs he surrendered, and he suffered his first loss of the season because of it. Chicago’s offense left 16 men on the base paths, and they squandered a bases loaded one out situation in the top of the 9th, but a costly base running mistake by 2B Mike Fontenot ultimately allowed Reds closer Francisco Cordero to pick up his fifth save of the season. With the loss, the Cubs dropped to 18-14 overall and sit 2.5-games in back of the NL Central Division leading St. Louis Cardinals. They’re now one-game under .500 on the road (7-8), and they’ve lost seven of their last 10 overall. It was a much needed win for the Reds who got throttled by the Atlanta Braves over the weekend, and they now own a 13-20 overall mark eight games in back of St. Louis. The teams are now tied at two apiece in this year’s season series.
Looking to put a halt to the Cubs two-game losing streak will be Carlos Zambrano who comes into tonight’s start 4-1 with a 2.11 ERA and 1.17 WHIP. He’s allowed 44 hits and 11 earned runs with a K/BB ratio of 35/11 in 47 total innings of work. He threw another gem his last time out limiting the Milwaukee Brewers to seven hits and one earned run in six plus innings of work, but Kerry Wood blew the Cubs two-run lead in the top of the 9th and they lost by a 4-3 final count. He picked up a win against the Reds this season on April 16 at Wrigley, giving up two runs on eight hits over seven innings. Lifetime against Cincinnati, “Big Z” is 11-9 with a 3.48 ERA and 1.36 WHIP.
Opposing him will be the Reds Aaron Harang who hasn’t been nearly as bad as his W/L mark indicates. He’s only allowed 41 hits and 16 earned runs in over 48 innings of work, and he owns an impressive K/BB ratio of 41/11. His offense has been silent his L/2 starts combining to score a total of three runs, but he’s held up his end of the bargain allowing 15 hits and five earned runs with a K/BB ratio of 12/4 in 13 total innings of work. He got roughed up badly in his lone start against Chicago earlier this season when he gave up five earned runs and eight hits over six innings in the Reds 9-5 defeat. In his career against the Cubs, Harang is 8-4 with a 4.62 ERA and 1.27 WHIP.
Oddsmakers opened Chicago up –120 road favorites with the ‘total’ set at 8 over –115. You can get down on both the ‘side’ and ‘total’ at BetUS.com right now!!!
The Reds are just 9-14 against right-handers this season, and 6-12 against divisional opponents, while the Cubs are 13-9 against the NL Central and 6-1 in Zambrano’s L/7 road starts at Cincinnati. Neither of these clubs fares well with Home Plate Umpire Chuck Meriwether behind the dish. The Reds are 2-6 the L/8 times he’s called balls and strikes in their games, and the Cubs have dropped four of five with him behind home plate. Something’s got to give here, and the fact that Chicago’s 9-4 the L/13 times Zambrano’s thrown after a loss makes them attractive at this short price.
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