16th Sept - Pirates vs Cubs

The games have been tightly played so far between two teams that are still chasing the St Louis Cardinals in the NL Central and are currently in possession of Wildcard spots. The Cubs won 5-4 before losing 2-1 in yesterday’s later encounter.

If these teams meet in the Wildcard match, then Jake Arrieta is the most likely player to be given the ball. He has established himself as Chicago’s ace and is a serious contender in the NL Cy Young award race. He’s won eight straight starts with a 0.46 ERA, while his stats on the season aren’t much less impressive (19-6, 1.99 ERA). Since June 1, Arrieta is 13-1 with a 1.00 ERA. It doesn’t make sense to bet against him very often.

The Cubs are likely to include Starlin Castro in tonight’s line-up. He has three doubles and is batting .471 against A.J. Burnett.

Burnett takes the mound for the Pirates after returning from injury and giving up three runs in five innings against the Milwaukee Brewers. It’s worth noting that all of those runs came early as Burnett established himself through the course of the game.

Three Reasons for Betting Tips

1. Bet on Arrieta

Yeah, we’re not getting involved in anything that involves betting against Jake Arrieta. Look at that record and look at how he has been pitching. Some might argue that it has to end at some point, but it has been three and a half months.

2. Cubs should tee off against Burnett

Burnett is still recovering from his elbow strain and will always be susceptible to batters making contact with him. We think the Cubs will score some runs in this matchup.

3. Low-scoring game overall

In spite of our expectation that the Cubs will pick up some runs, we don’t think they’ll blow out the Pirates and we’re counting on another tightly played game overall.