Tuesday night baseball and we will see the Washington Nationals travel to Wrigley Field to take on the Chicago Cubs. Free Pick to follow. First pitch is scheduled for a 8:05 PM (Eastern) start time and the game will be televised locally.
Betting Odds
Nationals -118
Cubs +108
Over/ Under: 10 O -115
This is game 2 of a 3 game series between these National League foes. The Nationals took game 1 of this series by a 2-1 score yesterday and are starting to look like the team that they were expected to be. The Nats have won 8 of their last 9 games and have taken over the NL East by 2.5 games over the Mets. The Cubs had been rather hot, but they have now lost 3 of their last 4 games. Still they are 24-20 on the year and in second place in the NL Central. The Nationals rank 3rd in the league in scoring (4.76 rpg), while on the mound they are 8th in ERA (3.64). The Cubs rank 17th in the league in scoring (4.23 rpg), while on the mound they are 12th in ERA (3.78).
Trends for this game include: The Nationals are 13-3 in their last 16 games vs. a right-handed starter, 60-29 in their last 89 games as a road favorite. and 22-4 in Zimmermann's last 26 starts during game 2 of a series. The Cubs have gone 6-1 in their last 7 vs. the National League East and 9-1 in Hendricks' last 10 starts when their opponent scores 2 runs or less in their previous game, but just 1-5 the last 6 in the series.
Taking the hill for the Nationals tonight will be Jordan Zimmerman, who has gone 4-2 with a 3.52 ERA overall this year, while on the road he has gone 2-1 with a 5.06 ERA. Jordan has not had good success vs the Cubs, going 1-4 with a 4.81 ERA in 7 starts vs them, while at Wrigley he has gone 0-3 with a 6.27 ERA in 3 starts.
Getting the ball for the Cubs tonight will be Kyle Hendricks, who is 1-1 with a 4.14 ERA in 8 starts this year, which includes an 0-1 mark and a 4.86 ERA at home. This will be Kyle's first ever meeting vs the Nationals.
Pick: Going with the Under here. Yes the wind is a factor, but it was a factor yesterday and still just 3 runs were scored. Both starters are in good form right now and should be able to keep these offenses at bay. Zimmerman has struggled in his career vs the Cubs, but right now he is pitching very well with a 2.37 ERA in his last 3 starts and has allowed more than 3 ER's in just one game all season. Hendricks has the advantage of having never faced the Nats and he has a 2.25 ERA in his last 3 starts. Just can't see the scoring getting out of hand in this one.
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