A key battle on the MLB odds menu sees visiting Chicago duelling Arizona on Thursday at Chase Field.

Ryan Dempster gets the ball in front of a hostile crowd for the Cubs on this day; he's 1-2 on the season. The Diamondbacks, meanwhile, will counter with Barry Enright, who will be looking to improve on his 0-2 mark.



View Chi Cubs vs Arizona Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
Sportsbooks had installed the Diamondbacks as -120 moneyline favorites in this particular MLB matchup. The total, meanwhile, was set early at 9.5 before betting started to move the line.

Power Rankings:
The Diamondbacks sit at No. 6 in the National League in the current MLB power poll here at Odds Shark, while the Cubs sit at a National League No. 11 on the same chart.



How They Match Up:
Rating these teams in several key categories is important for handicappers and Arizona has the National League's No. 4-rated offensive output, at 8.7 hits per game. The Cubs average 9.9 hits per game, good for No. 2 on the National League list.

Arizona owns the National League's No. 15 defense, allowing 5.6 men per game to cross the plate. That contrasts with Chicago's National League No. 14-rated defense.

Last time out for Arizona, they were an 8-4 loser as they battled the Phillies at home. Moneyline bettors who got the Phillies at -140 were rewarded, while the 12 combined runs moved the game OVER for totals bettors. Arizona suffered an 8-4 loss against Philadelphia on Wednesday, as Joe Saunders wasn't able to lead his team to victory at Chase Field.


Arizona Diamondbacks Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 4-6
Before playing Chi Cubs are 2-8
After playing Philadelphia are 4-6
After a loss are 5-5

A few Cubs at Diamondbacks trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Chi Cubs' last 5 games when playing on the road against Arizona
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Chi Cubs' last 10 games when playing Arizona
Chi Cubs are 8-1 SU in their last 9 games when playing Arizona
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Chi Cubs' last 7 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Arizona's last 5 games when playing at home against Chi Cubs
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Arizona's last 10 games when playing Chi Cubs
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Arizona's last 5 games
Arizona is 12-6 SU in their last 18 games when playing at home against Chi Cubs


Next up:
Chi Cubs at Arizona, Friday, April 29