Diamond Picks – Chicago Cubs vs. Arizona Diamondbacks

Chicago Cubs vs. Arizona Diamondbacks 9:40 ET

The Chicago Cubs (9-9 -$270) enter its house of horrors for the second of its three game sports betting set against the Arizona Diamondbacks (8-11 -$495) this evening. Dan Haren mowed the Cubs offense down en route to the D’Backs 7-2 win last night. The Cubs injury plagued line-up managed just three hits against the righty, while Arizona touched Cubs starter Ted Lilly up for six hits (1 HR) and five earned runs to secure its second win in a row. The defending NL Central Division champs have had a rough go of it to start their 2009 MLB betting campaign. Injuries to Milton Bradley and Aramis Ramirez have kept the offense from finding its stride, and the pitching staff is yet to find its groove as well. They currently sit four-games in back of the division leading St. Louis Cardinals. As for Arizona, injuries have played a role to the team’s slow start, and the offense has been putrid currently ranked 28th in runs per game (3.68) and 30th in team batting average (.225). As already mentioned, Chase Field has been a house of horrors for the Northsiders as they’re just 8-28 the L/36 times they’ve invaded the desert.

Carlos Zambrano and the Cubs currently sit as -125 road favorites over Yusmeiro Petit and the D’Backs for tonight’s baseball betting match-up; the game ‘total’ currently sits at 9.5 over -110.

Big Z has not looked the part in 2009, and he’s been roughed up in his last three starts. Since allowing just one earned run in his 2009 debut against Houston, Zambrano has surrendered a total of 23 hits and 13 earned runs through 20 innings of work. His last time out against Cincinnati saw him make a throwing error on a pick-off attempt that eventually saw the runner score in the Cubs 7-1 home defeat. Chicago is 2-3 in his five career starts against Arizona; personally, Carlos is 1-2 with a 4.20 ERA and 1.43 WHIP against the Snakes.

Yusmeiro Petit has filled the spot-starter/long-relief role for the D-backs the past two seasons. He’s currently holding down Brandon Webb’s spot while he recovers from shoulder stiffness. He doesn’t possess overpowering stuff (only 42 K’s in 56 innings last year), but he generally has good command (only 14 walks in 56 innings last year) and is usually around the strike zone. The D’Backs are a perfect 3-0 in his three career starts against Chicago.

Even though Milton Bradley is good to go for tonight’s game, he’s yet to find his groove and probably isn’t the answer to the Cubs offensive woes. Zambrano has just been way too erratic to suggest he should be a road favorite of this magnitude at this point in time; especially considering how badly the Cubs struggle in this ballpark. With AZ rediscovering its swagger its last two games, look for them to be an inhospitable host in this spot and add on to its dominance of the Cubs in this venue.

Rose’s Recommendation: 2* Arizona +105

(Rating Scale: 1* – 5*)