Baseball Betting Favorites -Surprising Carlos Silva Strives for Another Cubs Victory

Carlos Silva has been a huge surprise for the Chicago Cubs so far this season.

The Cubs, desperately looking to unload Milton Bradley, would have taken anyone the Mariners offered.

They offered Silva and he’s responded big time with a 3 and 0 record, a 3.50 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. Silva and the Cubs will be the baseball betting favorite in this game strictly because of his performance so far in 2010.

Silva will be looking for his 4th straight victory on Wednesday afternoon when he takes the mound against Florida’s Chris Volstad. Volstad’s overall numbers, 3 and 2 with a 4.12 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP, pale in comparison to what he’s done lately.

Volstad has given up only 3 runs and 8 total hits in his last 2 starts.

Silva and Volstad both have a chance of providing baseball wagering profits in today’s afternoon game making this a tough a one to handicap.

Florida Marlins vs. Chicago Cubs

• Where: Wrigley Field, Chicago, Illinois
• When: May 12th, 2010 at 2:20 pm EST

Here’s the baseball betting line for this game:

Florida Marlins Chris Volstad – R +1 ½ -190 +110 O 8 ½ -105

Chicago Cubs Carlos Silva – R -1 ½ +160 -130 U 8 ½ -115

The MLB trends favor neither team in this game.

• The Chicago Cubs are 6 and 1 in their last 7 games at home with the total set at 6 ½ or lower.
• The Chicago Cubs are 5 and 0 in Carlos Silva’s last 5 starts.
• The Florida Marlins are 20 and 8 in their last 28 games as an underdog on the road.
• The Florida Marlins are 8 and 1 in Chris Volstad’s last 9 starts after 4 days of rest.

There are some interesting things going on in this game. Volstad has a 2.81 ERA in 4 games against the Cubs but has never recorded a decision against them.

Carlos Silva is 1 and 1 with a 3.09 ERA against the Florida Marlins but he hasn’t faced them since 2008. The Chicago Cubs have lost 2 games in a row against the Marlins and are in danger of being swept. Chicago hasn’t lost 5 games in a row, they lost 2 to Cincinnati before starting this series with the Marlins, since last August.

There are a lot of factors to look at regarding this game. Perhaps the most important is the fact that Chris Volstad has been terrific in his last 2 starts but both of those starts were against the Washington Nationals where Volstad was an MLB bet favorite.

Before those 2 victories, Volstad had given up an average of 3 runs per game and was belted for 7 by the Colorado Rockies. Which Chris Volstad is going to show up?

Silva, on the other hand, has been fairly consistent all season long and has received the necessary run support in order to win games. Silva received 7 runs in a 7 to 2 victory over Houston on 4/16, 9 runs in a 9 to 3 victory over the New York Mets on 4/21, and, amazingly, 14 runs in a 14 to 7 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in his last start.

For some reason, the Cubs’ batters respond to Silva. That’s the angle I’m going to go with here. Volstad could pitch very well in this game, but I like how Carlos Silva and the Cubs have meshed this season.

I’m making a baseball bet on the Cubs to win this game.

MLB Betting Pick: Chicago Cubs -130