Sports Betting Overview
Just when the Pittsburgh Pirates needed to pick up some momentum to compete for the NL Central title, the team starts to trail off and finds itself dropping out of the race. In the last 10 games, the Pirates are 3-7 and that includes a four-game losing streak. MLB betting fans want to believe that the Pirates can end their Cinderella season by making the playoffs, but when the Pirates show signs of having problems with the Chicago Cubs, then Pittsburgh fans need to worry. The Pirates have been having problems scoring runs lately, and they will have to reverse that trend in a hurry if they want to get back on track in the NL Central pennant race.
The Chicago Cubs are just trying to evaluate talent and put together a team to compete for next season. While the Cubs are 16.5 games out of first place in the NL Central, they are playing some pretty good baseball as of late. In the last 10 games, the Cubs are 5-5 and are nursing a two-game winning streak. The Cubs seem to be playing with a lot of energy lately, and it is showing up on the scorecard. They are being more aggressive on the base paths and their pitching seems to be coming around as well. The Cubs do not have anywhere near the tools necessary to make any kind of run this late in the season, but they can become the spoiler that kills the dream season for the Pirates.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Charlie Morton takes the mound for the Pirates in this game, and he is a prime example of what is going wrong with Pittsburgh. In his last 10 starts, Morton is 3-4 but yet he is still 8-6 on the year. His recent slide includes a July 29th performance against the Phillies where he pitched only four innings and gave up six runs on nine hits. Those are the kind of games that Morton and the Pirates need to win. Run support has not been an issue for Morton. His problem lately has been with his control and, inevitably, his confidence. Morton needs to start being on the winning side of more MLB baseball scores in this home stretch if the Pirates are going to make the playoffs.
Chicago Cubs
Matt Garza takes the mound for the Cubs, and he has been a disappointment for the Cubs since being acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays in the off-season. In 2010, Garza went 15-10 and had an ERA of 3.91. So far this season, Garza is 4-8 with an ERA of 3.99. Garza does not have the offensive support in Chicago that he had last year in Tampa, and that does have something to do with his record. But Garza has also been extremely unpredictable this season. He has had games where he went seven innings and allowed no earned runs, to games where he only made it through five and two-thirds innings before being pulled after giving up six earned runs. Garza needs to find his 2010 form to keep his spot on the Chicago rotation.
The Bottom Line
The Pirates need this MLB game and the Cubs do not. But it may the recent drop in Pittsburgh offense that gives this game to the Cubs.
Pick: Chicago Cubs
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