Cubs look to bounce back in South Florida
This week has tested the MLB-best Cubs’ spirit and ingenuity in a myriad of ways. Perhaps a business trip to South Beach can cure a few of those ails.
Chicago takes on Miami in the opener of a four-game set tonight, with a 7:10 p.m. ET first pitch at Marlins Park. Oddsmakers at online sports book Bovada.lv still favor Joe Maddon’s club, while the Fish enter as +155 underdogs. The over/under run total rests at 7.5.
Not only are the Cubbies missing Anthony Rizzo (back), Dexter Fowler (hamstring) and potentially Miguel Montero (knee strain), they hit the Sunshine State having just dropped three in a row to chief division rival St. Louis. Jon Lester has claimed five consecutive starts, though, and he’ll get the call this evening. The venerable lefty is 5-1 with a 1.69 ERA in six assignments away from Wrigley Field.
Miami manager Don Mattingly responds by sending the combustible Wei-Yin Chen (4-2, 5.22) to the hill. Acquired in the offseason to give the Marlins a much-needed veteran presence in the rotation, Chen’s suffering through a brutal stretch. Most recently, the southpaw yielded six runs in 2 1/3 innings to Colorado.
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If Lester can contain the preposterously hot Ichiro Suzuki, the Cubs should be in business. That 22-12 road record reflects the group’s proficiency regardless of venue, and Chen seems ill-equipped to handle such a wealth of talent right now. Count on Chicago to rebound in a major way.
THURSDAY MLB FREE PICK: CUBS -1.5
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