Chi Town in Hotlanta – Cubs vs. Braves

Chicago Cubs vs. Atlanta Braves

Game Match-up 6/3 7:00 ET

Brutal is all you can say to describe the Chicago Cubs (25-25, -$615) meltdown in the late innings of their 6-5 loss at the hands of the Atlanta Braves (26-25, -$185) in the opener of their three game sports betting battle. Once again, Randy Wells pitched a whale of a game allowing two hits and one earned run while striking out four with no walks through seven solid innings of work, but the bullpen prevented him from securing his first MLB victory. Carlos Marmol walked two and surrendered an earned run, and then the gas can otherwise known as Kevin Gregg gave up a gopher ball to Jeff Francoeur with a man on to allow the Braves to tie it up in the bottom of the 9th. Chipper Jones knocked the go-ahead run in the bottom of the 11th to hand MLB bettors backing the Cubs a disgusting defeat.

The loss dropped the Cubs to a pathetic 9-15 on the road (-$755), while Atlanta climbed to .500 at home (12-12) and took a unit off its negative earnings (-$350) for the year. Both of these clubs have succeeded in their roles tonight as Chicago’s 6-4 in the second game of a series off a loss the previous day, while Atlanta’s 5-3 in Game 2 off a series opening victory. Atlanta’s improbable win halted Chicago’s series winning streak at six in a row.

Derek Lowe and the Atlanta Braves currently sit as -135 home favorites over Ted Lilly and the Chicago Cubs for the second game of tonight’s baseball betting series; the ‘total’ has been set at 8 under -125.

Ted Lilly was dominant in his last start against the LA Dodgers where he tossed seven innings of four-hit ball allowing one run in the Cubs 2-1 victory. The victory was his sixth of the year, and he leads the Cubs in the quality start department with seven. That said; the southpaw has been an entirely different pitcher away from the comfy confines of Wrigley Field as his overall 3.50 ERA balloons to 6.14 as a visitor. He’s given up more hits (30) than total innings pitched (29.1), and he’s surrendered seven of the 11 homers he’s given up on the road. In two outings against the Braves last year, Lilly allowed 12 hits and seven ER’s, but the Cubs won both games and outslugged the Braves 11-7 at Turner Field.

Derek Lowe gave up a season high 10 hits to the AZ Diamondbacks his last time out and earned his third loss of the season because of it. After rattling off four straight victories, the Braves are just 1-2 his L/3 starts even though he sports a 2.82 ERA and gave up just 18 hits in 22+ innings worked during that stretch. He’s been tough on opponents he’s faced at Turner Field going 2-1 with a 3.30 ERA and 1.30 WHIP allowing just 27 hits and 11 earned runs through 30 innings of work. Lowe’s excelled against the Cubs going 3-1 with a 3.22 ERA & 1.24 WHIP in nine career appearances.

The last time the Cubs saw Derek Lowe, he defeated them in Game 1 of the NLDS back in October. You’d think they’d be chomping at the bit to get some revenge tonight, but we also thought that last Thursday when they met up with the Dodgers for the first time; they went on to lose 2-1. Until the Cubs show us they’re not going to continuously break their betting backer’s hearts, fade them. Lilly’s a completely different pitcher on the road, and Lowe was pissed about his last outing in the desert. Last night’s choke job might also still be on Chicago’s mind when they take the field tonight…

Rose’s Recommendation: 2* Atlanta Braves -135 (Lowe)
(Rating Scale: 1* – 5*)