Friday, March 31, 2017

Minute Maid Park

Get todays MLB odds and lines on this game.

Probable Pitchers: Kyle Hendricks vs. Joseph Musgrove

The Chicago Cubs visit Minute Maid Park on Friday, March 31, 2017 to play the Houston Astros in a Spring Training matchup. The probable starters are Kyle Hendricks for the Cubs and Joseph Musgrove for the Astros.

The opening line for this matchup has Chicago at -115 and Houston at -105. The Cubs had a 75-79-8 over/under record and a 87-75-0 run line mark last season, meaning they covered 54% of the time. The Astros were 72-90-0 against the run line and had a 73-81-8 over/under record. They covered the spread 44% of the time.

Valuable Chicago Cubs Betting Trends

The Chicago Cubs were 75-79-8 against the over/under last season

The Chicago Cubs were 87-75-0 against the run line last season

Important Houston Astros Betting Trends

The Houston Astros were 73-81-8 against the over/under last season

The Houston Astros were 72-90-0 against the run line last season

Key Chicago Cubs Injuries

3/29/2017 Andury Acevedo RP Knee Questionable for start of season
3/29/2017 Brian Duensing RP Back Questionable for start of season
3/29/2017 Kyle Hendricks SP Illness Questionable for start of season
3/29/2017 Fernando Rodriguez RP Shoulder Questionable for start of season
3/29/2017 Addison Russell SS Back Questionable for start of season
3/22/2017 Eloy Jimenez RF Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Apr 10
3/2/2017 Jemile Weeks 2B Knee Questionable for start of season

Key Houston Astros Injuries

3/28/2017 Collin McHugh SP Arm Expected to be out until at least Apr 10
3/19/2017 David Paulino SP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Apr 19
3/18/2017 Telvin Nash 1B Suspension Suspended until Apr 1
3/4/2017 Riley Ferrell RP Shoulder Questionable for start of season
12/28/2016 Brendan McCurry RP Suspension Suspended until May 22
7/7/2016 Daz Cameron CF Finger Questionable for start of season

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Cubs are coming off a 103-58 record in 2016, including 46-34 on the road. Starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks had a 16-8 record with an earned run average of 2.13 and a WHIP of 0.98. He had 170 strikeouts over his 190 innings pitched and he gave up 142 hits last season. He allowed 6.7 hits per 9 innings and he had a FIP of 3.2. The bullpen last year had an earned run average of 3.50 and they gave up 365 base hits on the year. Teams hit .208 against the bullpen while being struck out 519 times and walking 199 times last season. As a team, Chicago allowed 6.92 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.88 batters per nine innings. They were 1st in the league in team earned run average at 3.13. The Cubs pitchers collectively gave up 1,125 base hits and 511 earned runs. They allowed 163 home runs last season and they allowed 1.1 homers per nine innings as a staff. Chicago as a pitching staff walked 495 batters and struck out 1,441. They walked 3.1 men per 9 innings while striking out 8.9 per 9. They had a team WHIP of 1.11 and their FIP as a unit was 3.77.

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Hitting Statistics

As a team Chicago batted .256, good for 14th in the league while putting together a .258 average away from home. The Cubs held a .429 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .343 which was good for 2nd in baseball. They ranked 18th in baseball with 8.7 hits per game. Kris Bryant is coming off a 2016 season in which he hit .292 with an on-base percentage of .385. He had 176 hits last season along with 121 runs scored and 102 runs batted in. He struck out 154 times and walked 75 times. Anthony Rizzo hit .292 last year and he had an on-base percentage of .385. He totaled 170 hits while scoring 94 runs and he drove in 109. He walked 74 times and struck out on 108 occasions. The Cubs had 1,409 hits, including 293 doubles and 199 home runs. They stole 66 bases and were thrown out stealing 34 times. Chicago walked 656 times last season and they struck out 1,339 times as a unit. They left 1,217 men on base and had a team OPS of .772. They scored 4.99 runs per contest and scored a total of 808 runs last year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Houston had a 43-38 home record and a 84-78 overall mark in 2016. With an earned run average of 4.06, Joseph Musgrove had a 4-4 record and a 1.21 WHIP last season. He had 55 strikeouts over the 62 innings he pitched during which he gave up 59 hits. He allowed 8.6 hits per nine innings and his FIP stood at 4.18. Last season the bullpen had an earned run average of 3.56 and they gave up 475 base hits on the year. Teams hit .227 against the Astros bullpen while being struck out 617 times and walking 153 times last season. As a team, Houston allowed 8.84 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.56 batters per nine innings. They were 11th in the league in team earned run average at 4.07. The Astros pitchers as a team surrendered 1,441 base knocks and 663 earned runs last season. They gave up 181 home runs last year and they gave up 1.1 home runs per nine innings as a staff. Houston as a staff walked 453 hitters and struck out 1,396. They gave up a walk 2.8 times per 9 innings while they struck out 8.6 per 9. Their team WHIP was 1.29 while their FIP as a staff was 3.85.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they batted .247, good for 24th in the league while putting together a .238 average at home. The Astros held a .417 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .319 which was good for 19th in baseball. They ranked 23rd in baseball with 8.44 hits per contest. George Springer comes into this matchup after batting .261 with an OBP of .359. He had 168 hits last year along with 116 runs scored and 82 RBI. He struck out 178 times and walked on 88 occasions. Jose Altuve hit .338 in 2016 and he had an OBP of .396. He collected 216 hits while scoring 108 runs and driving in 96. He earned a walk 60 times and punched out 70 times. The Astros as a unit had 1,367 base hits, including 291 doubles and 198 homers. They had 102 stolen bases and were thrown out 44 times. Houston as a team walked 554 times last year and they struck out 1,452 times. They had 1,086 men left on base and had an OPS of .735. They scored 4.47 runs per game and totaled 724 runs last season.

Who will win tonight's Cubs/Astros MLB game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take the Cubs -115

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