Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Chicago Cubs Preview
Where: Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL
When: Thursday, August 3, 2017, 2:20 PM ET
Line: Arizona Diamondbacks (+123) at Chicago Cubs (-133) – view all MLB lines
TV Broadcast: FS-A, CSN-C, MLB Network
Betting on the Arizona Diamondbacks (61-46)
On Wednesday, the Arizona Diamondbacks managed to cool off the red-hot Chicago Cubs by prevailing with a 3-0 shutout victory. They’ll now look to take the three-game series on the road against the defending champions and further stighten their grip on one of the wild card spots in the National League.
The Diamondbacks are one of just five teams in the majors with 60 or more wins thus far, and there appears to be no slowing them down just yet. Jake Lamb, Arizona’s leader in home runs and RBIs, had a couple of doubles in Wednesday’s win and drove in all three runs for his team to bring his RBI total to 83 for the season. Lamb was also the last player to hit a homer against Chicago’s starter this Thursday in Jose Quintana – a two-run blast that powered the D-Backs to a win late in May over Quintana’s former team from the Windy City.
Meanwhile, Zack Greinke (13-4, 2.84 ERA) will look to deliver a solid outing in the series finale after his fellow starter Zack Godley’s amazing start of no-run ball on Wednesday. Greinke’s having a resurgent 2017 campaign, with his performances in July being downright exceptional. The former Cy Young Award winner is 4-0 in his five starts during the month, boasting a sweet 2.12 ERA and having pitched seven or more innings in each of his winning decisions in that span.
Betting on the Chicago Cubs (57-49)
It seems as if the Chicago Cubs have met their match in the Diamondbacks, as they’ve suffered their first shutout loss since June 30.
But still, Wednesday marked just the fourth defeat in 18 games for the Cubs since the All-Star Break. Don’t count their offense out just yet, either; remember that they just piled on 16 runs on the D-backs in Tuesday’s series opener.
Returning behind the plate is catcher Willson Contreras, who’ll add some firepower that was missing from Wednesday’s loss. Contreras sent two runners home in Tuesday’s blowout win, giving him 10 hits and nine RBIs over his last nine games.
Chicago will also counter Arizona’s Greinke with its own standout starter in Jose Quintana (6-9, 4.16 ERA), who’ll be making his fourth start for the Cubbies after being dealt by the neighboring White Sox before the trade deadline. Quintana’s actually looked better as a Cub, with the Colombian righty lasting at least six innings deep to go with no less than six strikeouts in each of his three starts for the reigning champs.
Thursday’s series finale will feature a tasty pitcher’s duel, but the Cubs should be able to prevent getting blanked for a second consecutive game, especially with the Brewers breathing down their necks in the NL Central race.
Writer’s Prediction
The Cubs (-133) eke out a crucial 4-3 victory.
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