Today's Pick: CHC (-185) over BAL

It's the Chicago Cubs vs. the Baltimore Orioles in a 1:20 PM CDT start at Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL.  They split the first two and will play a third to decide the series on a beautiful day in Chicago.  We have had some great weather this week.

The Cubs (64-46) enter today's game two back of the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central.  It's a division that they have led most of the season.  It's not that they have played badly, the Cubs haven't lost more than three in a row since starting the season 0-6, and were 14-10 in July.  

Colin Rea (8-5) starts for Chicago.  Rea is the Cubs' fifth man up and he has eight wins.  He earned most of them with quality starts.  He earns his losses too but his 3.97 ERA over his last five starts isn't all that bad.  He has averaged five plus innings per start and has recorded a pair of quality starts since July 1st.  Rea can give the Cubs good innings.  

Brandon Young (0-5) takes the ball for the Orioles.  The rookie's numbers on the year are atrocious.  He did post a quality start against the Blue Jays on July 29th.  But he has been gopher food for lefties:  .313/.394/.594 versus left-handed hitters this season.  

The Cubs have some good lefty bats.  Busch, Tucker and Crow-Armstrong are the three best hitters on the team.  Switch hitters Ian Happ and Miguel Castro will give them five left handed bats in the lineup today.  

Baltimore traded away relievers Bryan Baker, Gregory Soto and Seranthony Dominguez.  Closer Felix Bautista is on the IR.  Those guys were the nuts of the bullpen.  All that is left are a few bolts and their top four all pitched in yesterday's game.  They are stuck with the back end remains of a bone dry bullpen today.  

The Cubs have their top three relievers rested and available.  

The Orioles can hit a bit.  They have some good players but the bottom of their lineup is soft.  They had to replace Cedric Mullins and Ryan O'Hearn with a pair of prospects and have four rookies in the lineup.

I like Chicago today.  I think they have an edge in the starting pitching matchup, in the bullpen and with the bats.  The Cubs are at home and the Old Style is flowing on a beautiful day for baseball.  With 1.69 units in play, I'm going to press it all on Chicago to win at (-185).

Today's Pick:  CHC (-185) over BAL
Units in Play:  1.69 units
Units Wagered:  1.69 units
Ticket Pays:  2.60 units (+0.91 units)
Current Streak:  1
Longest Streak:  6

Total Units Wagered (Season):  107.12 units
Current Bank Balance:  8 units
Beginning Bank Balance:  40 units
Total Units Raked (season):  28 units
Profit / Loss (season):  -4.0 units
Overall Record:  45-27

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