Total Too High In Game Between Astros And Cubs

Astros vs. Cubs, 7:40 ET

Winning in sports betting isn't easy to come by. The mental battle that you have is often harder than the actual handicapping of games. There are so many times you get into slumps and start to second-guess everything. During a winning streak, you almost feel invincible - like you'll never lose again. The reality is something in between, just like in most parts of life. We are on another solid streak right now and took three wins last night. Baseball has been good for us for multiple years and this season has gone well, too. I'm going to try and get another victory today as the Astros take on the Cubs. 

I thought that last year the Astros were off to a rough start and would need to find a way to rebound during the season. I assumed it was in part due to the dreaded World Series hangover, and partially due to Jose Altuve being injured to start the season. This year, my antennas are up a bit and I have more concern about the squad than I have had in quite some time. They are 7-16 and just 3-7 on the road. There is still plenty of time for the team to adjust and get back on track. The playoffs are a long way away, and no one in the AL West is looking overly dominant right now. The issue hasn't been the hitting, as the team is batting .266, but they aren't scoring a ton of runs. They have only scored 96 runs in their 23 games which puts them in the bottom half of the league. The good news for them is that the Angels, Athletics, and Mariners are all behind them. The problem is the pitching staff; neither the starters nor relievers are doing much to help the squad. JP France is taking the ball for the Astros today, and he has struggled. France has thrown 20.1 innings and allowed 16 earned runs. The number is a bit inflated as he allowed eight earned in four innings against the Rangers. So, eight earned over 16.1 innings looks better. There aren't many Cubs hitters with experience against France, but they are 6-for-16 against him in the past. 

The Cubs didn't make a ton of changes over the offseason and it made me a bit concerned that they wouldn't take a big step forward. I can't say they are significantly better than last season yet, but they do look good through the first 20 games of the year. The team is hitting fairly well at .249 which is lower than the Astros, but to my point earlier, the Cubs have scored 119 runs. This could be a combination of timely hitting, maybe drawing more walks, or stringing together hits. Either way, the Cubs should be happy with their production to this point in the season. They just split a four-game set with the terrible Marlins team, so they need to capitalize on this Astros team while they are down. The Cubs pitching staff has done fairly well to this point with a 4.12 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. Sure, there is room for improvement, but it isn't hindering their productivity either. Tonight, Jordan Wicks takes the mound and brings a 5.29 ERA into the contest. Wicks has been a decent enough starter for the team, mostly out of necessity. He hasn't thrown more than 4.2 innings this year in any game, but he has allowed more than two earned runs just once. Wicks will allow hits and even a couple of walks, but he does have strikeout stuff, so he can get some of the Astros to swing and miss. The Astros have never seen him which should help him get through the lineup once or twice if he avoids mistakes. 

The weather isn't great in Chicago today, and that always is something to consider with games at Wrigley. To be quite honest, though, I don't think this is as big of a deal today as people might make it out to be. 10.5 is a pretty high number for this game. I like the under in it as I expect both starters to allow somewhere around four runs combined. I don't expect the bullpens to allow a ton of runs either so I'll back the under 10.5 in this one.

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