posted May 20, 2008 at 14:53 in MLB Betting Trends

The Chicago Cubs travel to Houston to take on the Astros in the second online betting game of a three game sports betting series. The Cubs won the first game 7 to 2 and look to make it two in a row against the Astros when they send pitcher Ryan Dempster to the mound. Dempster has been very, very good so far this season. His ERA is a terrific 2.51. His record is 5 and 1 and he has struck out 48 batters in 57.1 innings pitched.

The Astros counter with a pitcher who just hasn’t found his stride in Chris Sampson. I’m beginning to think that Sampson might not have a stride. He certainly hasn’t shown the same ability this year that he did last year. Save for a terrific outing against the sometimes hapless Los Angeles Dodgers a few weeks ago, Sampson has been pretty dreadful. His ERA is still above 6 at 6.46 and his win/loss record is 2 and 3. He’s struck out only 18 batters in 39 innings pitched. He’s only pitched 39 innings in eight games which means he doesn’t often finish out the fifth inning. That makes him an extremely tough BetUS online sportsbook bet in almost every situation.

Here are the BetUS online sportsbook wagering odds for this game:

Chicago Cubs

Ryan Dempster – R - 1 ½ + 130 - 125 O 9 ½ Ev

Houston Astros

Chris Sampson – R + 1 ½ - 150 + 105 U 9 ½ - 120

Here are a few trends that might help us find a good online bet in this game:

The Chicago Cubs are 6 and 1 in their last 6 games on grass.

The Chicago Cubs are 8 and 1 in Ryan Dempster’s last 9 starts as the favorite.

The Houston Astros are 4 and 1 in Chris Sampson’s last 5 starts on grass.

The Houston Astros are 8 and 2 in their last 10 games at home.

The strange thing regarding these online betting trends is that Chris Sampson’s numbers have not translated to Astros’ losses straight-up.

That’s worrisome because Dempster looks like the obvious play in this game. Giving up 1 ½ runs on the run line in order to get + 130 is not a bad wager considering that Dempster has the ability to shut-down the Astros’ line-up while Sampson should have his hands full with the Cubbies’ line-up.

I could sit here all day and write about how as MLB betting fans we really need to get into the minds of both managers, but why do that when the obvious online wager is the obvious online wager?

I’m taking Ryan Dempster for the Chicago Cubs at – 1 ½ runs + 130 in this game.

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