The Arizona Diamondbacks were left for dead after an offseason of questionable moves but they’ve been chugging along to now trail the Dodgers by only one game in the NL West and have won four straight. They’ll have Robbie Ray on the mound to face the visiting Chicago Cubs and he’s been dominant in five career starts vs the Cubbies with a 1.80 ERA. The Cubs counter with Kyle Hendricks, who shut down the Diamondbacks in his last start and struck out 11 batters.
The Diamondbacks opened as slight -105 home faves with a total of 8.5 (since moved to 9).
Cubs vs Diamondbacks Game Center
STANDOUT STATS
- The Diamondbacks have been one of the hottest offenses this season as they rank high in a lot of key categories. They rank third in total runs, second in total hits, first in doubles, third in RBIs, second in batting average and sixth in OPS.
- This will be the second home start for the Diamondbacks’ Robbie Ray and although he had a quality start back on April 10 (five innings, two hits, one earned run and 10 strikeouts), the bullpen let him down. In 12 home starts last season, he had a 4.73 ERA while giving up 15 homers.
- The Cubs will have Kyle Hendricks on the mound and, coincidentally, his last start was against the Diamondbacks. He shut them down to the tune of no runs, three hits and 11 strikeouts in the 5-1 win. In two road starts this season, he owns a 6.48 ERA.
- The Cubs haven’t been great vs left-handed pitching this season. They coincidentally rank 21st in hits, runs scored and RBIs against lefties. Robbie Ray has also been lights-out in his career vs the Cubs with a 1.80 ERA in five career starts while only allowing one home run in 30 innings of work.
- A lot of UNDER trends coming into this matchup. The UNDER has hit in 12 of Kyle Hendrick’s last 17 starts, in six of the Cubs’ last eight games (avg. combined score: 6.2) and in seven of the Diamondbacks’ last nine (avg. combined score: 6.8). The UNDER has also hit in the last three games in this matchup.
My Best Bet for Cubs vs Diamondbacks
UNDER 9 Runs
I think both of these pitchers have started to find their groove and I can’t deny that Kyle Hendricks looked great when he shut down the D-backs at Wrigley Field. Another reason why I like the UNDER is that both bullpens seem to have settled down and haven’t blown a save in over a week. I think Robbie Ray will shut this lineup down and keep them to two runs or less and I am banking on the starters to make me look good today.
