First the recap, lost last night with the Yankees as they were just dominated by Romero and the Blue Jays. Disappointing to say the least, but today I will make it up to you fellas. Will the Cubs ever win a game? Are they about to drop there 8th in a row? I'm gonna go against the grain here and say they break the streak today against left-handed starter Manny Parra and the Brew Crew. The Cubs counter with Ryan Dempster and the bulldog is going to lead the way to victory. First let's talk about Parra. He is 3-8 on the year with a 5.42 ERA. In his last 3 starts he is 0-2 with a 8.64 ERA, pitching 16.2 innings, giving up 8 walks and 4 home runs. In those 16 innings he has given up 18 hits and 16 runs. So basically he is giving up a run every inning he pitches. On the road he is 2-4 with a 6.38 ERA, giving up 50 hits in 42 innings pitched. 9 of his 13 home runs surrendered have came on the road and his opponents on base percentage is a whopping .378. Don't forget Parra is a left-hander and that's exactly the recipe the Cubs need to get out of this slump. Cubs team batting average jumps over 50 points in the last 10 games against left-handed pitchers. They are batting .232 against righties and .286 against lefties so you can see the disparity.
Cubs counter with Ryan Dempster who is 8-8 on the year with a 3.92 ERA. He is 0-1 in his last 3 starts with 2 no decisions, but he has pitched well in my opinion other than the recent game against the Rockies. He lasted a strong 7 against the Cardinals giving up 3 runs the start before and got the ND in a 4-3 loss. If you look farther into the season you actually see how well Dempster has pitched. Do you know from June 10th to July 15th, Dempster did not give up more than 3 runs in any of his starts? And this was against quality teams. Phillies, Reds, White Sox, and even this same Brewers team. Dempster has owned the Brewers in his last 10 starts going 7-3 and winning every home start. He strung together 4 straight wins against this team at one point.
The umpire in today's game is Tom Hallion. He is a favorable home team ump, going 13-8 in his 21 starts this season. His games average only 7.48 runs per game, he calls a strike 63% of the time, yet his games average 7 walks. He has umped 2 of Dempsters career starts, both of them resulting in victories for the Cubs. Tons of stats support Mr. Hallion's love for the Cubbies. Cubs are 4-0 in their last 4 Wednesday games with Hallion behind home plate. Home team is 4-0 in Hallions last 4 Wednesday games behind home plate vs. Chicago. Cubs are 7-2 in their last 9 games with Hallion behind home plate. Brewers are 3-7 in the last 10 games with Hallion behind the plate. Brewers are 0-4 in their last 4 Wednesday games with Hallion behind home plate. Some lopsided info right there if you ask me. What better time and situation for the Cubs to break this losing streak than in this game, am I wrong?
As I looked more into the match up I just kept falling in love with this play. Brewers and Parra road starts usually never end good. Brewers are 2-5 in Parras last 7 road starts and Brewers are 2-9 in Parras last 11 road starts vs. a team with a losing record. Brewers are also 0-4 in their last 4 Wednesday games. As I looked over to the Cubs side I found out the Cubs are 8-1 in their last 9 games after losing the first 2 games of a series. Cubs are 5-2 in Dempsters last 7 starts following a team loss in their previous game. They also respond to Dempster taking the mound after a loss as they are 5-2 in Dempsters last 7 starts following a team loss in their previous game. And like I stated earlier, Dempster just OWNS this Brewers squad as the Cubs are 6-0 in Dempsters last 6 home starts vs. Brewers. Well, there you have it folks, I'm backing a team that has lost 7 straight and have shown nothing but bad baseball. Dempster will right the ship today with a quality start, and the Cubs bats will come alive against this weak left-handed starter in Manny Parra. I don't like to lose, and last night's play was a stinker. I promise to bring you my best analysis every day and yesterday I failed. Today I will succeed. I wish everyone good luck today, let's turn a profit.
Chicago Cubs -1 (-105)
Risking 315 to Win 300
Cubs counter with Ryan Dempster who is 8-8 on the year with a 3.92 ERA. He is 0-1 in his last 3 starts with 2 no decisions, but he has pitched well in my opinion other than the recent game against the Rockies. He lasted a strong 7 against the Cardinals giving up 3 runs the start before and got the ND in a 4-3 loss. If you look farther into the season you actually see how well Dempster has pitched. Do you know from June 10th to July 15th, Dempster did not give up more than 3 runs in any of his starts? And this was against quality teams. Phillies, Reds, White Sox, and even this same Brewers team. Dempster has owned the Brewers in his last 10 starts going 7-3 and winning every home start. He strung together 4 straight wins against this team at one point.
The umpire in today's game is Tom Hallion. He is a favorable home team ump, going 13-8 in his 21 starts this season. His games average only 7.48 runs per game, he calls a strike 63% of the time, yet his games average 7 walks. He has umped 2 of Dempsters career starts, both of them resulting in victories for the Cubs. Tons of stats support Mr. Hallion's love for the Cubbies. Cubs are 4-0 in their last 4 Wednesday games with Hallion behind home plate. Home team is 4-0 in Hallions last 4 Wednesday games behind home plate vs. Chicago. Cubs are 7-2 in their last 9 games with Hallion behind home plate. Brewers are 3-7 in the last 10 games with Hallion behind the plate. Brewers are 0-4 in their last 4 Wednesday games with Hallion behind home plate. Some lopsided info right there if you ask me. What better time and situation for the Cubs to break this losing streak than in this game, am I wrong?
As I looked more into the match up I just kept falling in love with this play. Brewers and Parra road starts usually never end good. Brewers are 2-5 in Parras last 7 road starts and Brewers are 2-9 in Parras last 11 road starts vs. a team with a losing record. Brewers are also 0-4 in their last 4 Wednesday games. As I looked over to the Cubs side I found out the Cubs are 8-1 in their last 9 games after losing the first 2 games of a series. Cubs are 5-2 in Dempsters last 7 starts following a team loss in their previous game. They also respond to Dempster taking the mound after a loss as they are 5-2 in Dempsters last 7 starts following a team loss in their previous game. And like I stated earlier, Dempster just OWNS this Brewers squad as the Cubs are 6-0 in Dempsters last 6 home starts vs. Brewers. Well, there you have it folks, I'm backing a team that has lost 7 straight and have shown nothing but bad baseball. Dempster will right the ship today with a quality start, and the Cubs bats will come alive against this weak left-handed starter in Manny Parra. I don't like to lose, and last night's play was a stinker. I promise to bring you my best analysis every day and yesterday I failed. Today I will succeed. I wish everyone good luck today, let's turn a profit.
Chicago Cubs -1 (-105)
Risking 315 to Win 300
