Pittsburgh @ Chicago
Pittsburgh +155 over Chicago

BET365  +155 SportInteraction +155 Pinnacle +154

Posted at 3:50 PM EST.

Pittsburgh +155 over Chicago

2:20 PM EST. Jose Quintana (LHP - PIT) knows a thing or two about pitching at Wrigley Field. Quintana is not going to dazzle and he may get whacked but just like we mentioned yesterday, we don’t care. What we do care about is value and in that regard, the Cubs might be worse than the Pirates but are not priced as such. This is a bet on Pittsburgh to beat Chicago again.

If the books keep offering up prices like this against the Cubs, you can pencil us in almost every game. There is a lot to chew on here. First, in the Cubs long and storied history, their bullpen has never been used as much in the first dozen games as they have this year. Chicago’s starters can barely get out of the third inning, which in turn causes a taxed bullpen. That bullpen figures to get called upon early once again because Drew Smyly (LHP - CHC) hasn’t been able to go past five innings in about eight years.

The Cubs had a 3-0 lead yesterday built on Pittsburgh’s starter (Bryce Wilson) not being able to throw strikes. Dude walked four batters in the first frame and allowed three runs in the first two innings before being yanked in the third. The Cubbies would not score again and would muster a lousy four hits the entire game. Pittsburgh belted out nine hits and won 4-3. Back to Chicago’s pen. They used six relievers yesterday and nobody wants to answer the phone when David Ross makes that inevitable call to the bullpen.

As for Smyly, well, he’s thrown 10 innings and has five K’s. He regressed big time last year from his eye-catching 2020. He never exceeded 6 innings in a start, with only one such outing after June. That paired with longball issues eventually landed him in the pen. Look, he's gone from utterly valueless for years to a marginally useful pitcher, so that's progress. The injuries have taken their toll and the exciting skills he had at age 25 are not coming back. Now he’s priced like he’s 25 again and pitching for the Tigers. There’s a reason why Drew Smyly has been on six different teams in the past six years and it’s not because he has cooties.



Our Pick

Pittsburgh +155 (Risking 2 units - To Win: 3.10)

Baltimore -1½ +124 over L.A. Angels
San Francisco +100 over San Diego
Toronto +120 over Tampa Bay
Washington +135 over Cincinnati
San Diego under 83½ -105
Boston under 79½ -110