Cubs to take advantage of Braves’ new starter
Thanks largely to the efforts of Jake Arrieta, the Cubs looked more like their usual dominant selves yesterday. Jon Lester wants to keep reinforcing that notion this afternoon.
The rejuvenated lefty leads MLB-best Chicago into its rubber match against Atlanta at 1:35 p.m. ET. Handicappers at online sports book BetDSI give Joe Maddon’s bunch odds of -260 to take the series. The Braves, conversely, are categorized as +220 underdogs.
Following a misfire in the opener, the Cubbies performed a quick course correction roughly 18 hours ago. Not only did Arrieta twirl seven superlative innings, the visitors racked up 13 base knocks in an 8-2 victory. Chicago now boasts wins in 29 of the past 39 regular-season road contests.
In other words, John Gant (0-0, 6.17 ERA) should be borderline petrified. Atlanta’s 22-year-old rookie makes his first start in the bigs after a handful of relief appearances. He’ll attempt to hold down an uber-deep lineup that hits righties at a .253 clip.
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Obviously, nobody questions Lester’s (7-3, 2.08) bona fides. In his last two assignments, the three-time All-Star has fanned at least nine. He possesses a 3-2 record with a 2.52 ERA in six total outings vs. the Braves.
Even though the two clubs split the first two games of the set, we’re talking about an incredibly lopsided matchup here. Bank on the Cubs to come up large in their Turner Field farewell, with Lester strengthening his case for another trip to the Midsummer Classic along the way.
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