Chicago Cubs vs Philadelphia Phillies MLB Odds, Betting Preview 9/2/18

MLB betting preview for Sunday afternoon and we will see the Chicago Cubs grapple with the Philadelphia Phillies. This contest will take place at Citizens Bank Park and is game three of a three-game series. It has a start time of 1:35 PM. The Phillies took game one by a score of 2-1 and the Cubs bounced back with a 7-1 win in game two.  

Lines:  Chicago +148… Philadelphia -158… Over/Under 8.5

Pitching Matchup

The Cubs will trot out Jon Lester and he has gone 14-5 with a 3.67 ERA in 27 starts on the year, including 9-2 with a 3.05 ERA in 13 starts on the road. In his career, he has gone 90-48 with a 3.58 ERA in 188 starts on the road and 37-15 with a 3.00 ERA in 63 games (62 starts) during Sept/ Oct, plus 58-37 with a 3.46 ERA in 130 games (129 starts) in the daytime. Lester is 7-0 with a 1.64 ERA in nine career starts against the Phils, including 4-0 with a 1.29 ERA in five starts here at the Bank.

Toeing the rubber for the Phils will be Aaron Nola and he has gone 15-3 with a 2.10 ERA in 27 starts on the year, including 9-0 with a 1.94 ERA in 13 starts here at home. In his career, he has gone 23-12 with a 3.01 ERA in 32 starts here at the Bank and 3-3 with a 4.01 ERA in 10 starts in Sept/ Oct, plus 12-10 with a 3.39 ERA in 34 day starts. Nola has gone 1-0 with a 4.61 ERA in two career starts against the Cubs.

A Look At The Cubs

The Chicago Cubs had a solid win on Saturday as they took down the Phillies by a score of 7-1. Kyle Hendricks had a very good outing as he allowed just one ER on six hits and two walks while striking out four in 6.0 innings of work. He is no 11-10 with a 3.77 ERA on the year. The Cubs will look for another solid outing from their starter, but Jon Lester has struggled of late. Still, he has gone 7-0 with a 1.64 ERA in his career against the Phillies, plus he has allowed just one ER in his last two road starts. The Cubs will need him to be on his game for the playoffs if they get in.

Right now Chicago owns a 4.5 game lead over both the Brewers and the Cardinals in their division, so they are in good shape. They just can’t relax or they could lose their lead in the division. The Cubs are now 9-2 over their last 11 games. Their pitching has been very strong of late as they have allowed just 2.5 rpg over their last 16 games. On offense, they have put up 5.63 rpg over their last 11 games, after total just five runs in their previous five games. They are starting to really put it all together at the right time.     

A Look At The Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies had a very nice Friday as they topped the Cubs by a score of 2-1, while the Braves were losing at home. That allowed them to move to within just 2.0 games of first in the National League East. Well, on Saturday night they gave that game back as they lost to the Cubs, while the Braves beat the pirates. Still, the Phillies are very much alive in the race, including the wildcard race as they are just 1.5 games out of a spot in that respect. The Phillies haven’t played well down the stretch as they come in having lost 14 of their last 22 games. They must turn that around or they will continue to slide out of contention.

Zach Eflin had a rough outing on Saturday as he allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits and a walk in just 5.0 innings of work. He is now 9-6 with a 4.05 ERA on the year. They really need him to get back on track. They also need their pen to start playing well again as it has a 4.98 ERA over its last 10 games. The Phillies have a chance at a win in this one as they have Aaron Nola on the mound and he may be the hottest pitcher in the league. Nola has gone 3-0 with a 1.53 ERa in his last 7 starts.

Trends

Chicago is:

7-1 in their last 8 games vs. a right-handed starter

8-1 in Lester’s last 9 road starts

2-8 in their last 10 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600

The Over is 10-2 in Lester’s last 12 starts on grass

Philadelphia is:

21-7 in their last 28 home games vs. a left-handed starter.

9-2 in Nola’s last 11 starts following a team loss in their previous game

The Under is 18-6-2 in Nola’s last 26 starts on grass