posted July 4, 2008 at 13:13 in MLB Articles

Forget about the little Yankees/Red Sox sports betting series happening over in the American League this weekend – neither of those teams are even in first place right now. Instead, those doing any MLB betting can note that there are two big sets in the National League in the days ahead, with the Cardinals hosting the Cubs, and the Mets heading to Philadelphia.

The Cubs currently have the best record in the National League, but right behind them are the division-rival Cardinals. Entering play on Thursday, Chicago held a 2.5-game lead on St. Louis in the NL Central, but they had lost six of their past 10 games (the Cards were 5-5 over their past 10). Interleague play is partly to blame for the Cubs’ woes – they have been swept by both the White Sox and Rays over the past two weeks.

So the Cards will be looking to cut into the Cubs’ division lead when the two teams begin their series on Friday night (first pitch is set for 8:15pm ET). Chicago is expected to send Carlos Zambrano (8-3, 3.13 ERA) to the mound on Friday night, with St. Louis countering with Braden Looper (9-5, 4.26 ERA). Zambrano (shoulder) will be coming off the disabled list for the outing – the righthander last pitched in a June 18 loss to Tampa.

Saturday’s matchup will start at 3:55pm ET, with Chicago’s Ted Lilly (9-5, 4.56 ERA) projected to go up against St. Louis’ Kyle Lohse (10-2, 3.67 ERA). Sunday’s series finale is set for 3:15pm ET, with the Cubs’ Sean Marshall (0-2, 4.87 ERA) taking on the Cards’ Todd Wellemeyer (7-3, 3.86 ERA). St. Louis is 0-3 over Wellemeyer’s past three outings.

The Mets found themselves 4.5 games behind the Phillies heading into play on Thursday, but they’ll be able to chop a bunch of games off that lead with some good results in their four-game series versus their rival this weekend. Friday’s opener is set for 7:05pm ET, with Johan Santana (7-7, 3.01 ERA) expected to face J.A. Happ (0-0, 0.00 ERA), who was recalled to replace the demoted Brett Myers in Philly’s rotation.

Saturday should see New York’s John Maine (8-6, 3.86 ERA) take on Philadelphia’s Jamie Moyer (7-6, 4.13 ERA) at 7:05pm ET. Sunday’s probables are the Mets’ Oliver Perez (6-5, 4.98 ERA) and the Phillies’ Kyle Kendrick (8-3, 4.58 ERA), with a 1:35pm ET first pitch. The 7:05pm ET finale on Monday night is expected to feature New York’s struggling Pedro Martinez (2-2, 7.39 ERA) against Philly’s Adam Eaton (3-6, 4.79 ERA).

The other National League division leader, the Diamondbacks, will be looking to break out of a funk when they play host to the Padres this weekend. The Dodgers, who are closing in on the D-Backs in the NL West standings, will play a series in San Francisco. Elsewhere around the Senior Circuit this holiday weekend it’s Washington at Cincinnati, Houston at Atlanta, and Florida at Colorado, while Milwaukee will play host to Pittsburgh.

The top matchup over in the American League this weekend is the aforementioned Red Sox/Yankees series, but the league-leading Rays will attract some interest as well. Tampa Bay had Thursday off after sweeping Boston earlier in the week, and they’ll be looking to avoid a letdown when they host lowly Kansas City over the weekend. The Rays enter the weekend with the top record in the American League at 52-32 this year.

There are five other series on the schedule for the next few days, including Detroit at Seattle, Texas at Baltimore, Cleveland at Minnesota, and Oakland at the Chicago White Sox. As well, the Angels will be looking to bolster their lead in the AL West with a series win at home over Toronto this weekend. Los Angeles took two of three from rival Oakland earlier in the week, and they entered play on Thursday with a 5.5-game lead.

Check the BetUS MLB lines section for all of the latest odds and totals for the weekend.

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