Thursday, March 23, 2017

Salt River Fields

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Probable Pitchers: Jake Arrieta vs. Zack Greinke

The Chicago Cubs visit Salt River Fields on Thursday, March 23, 2017 to play the Arizona Diamondbacks in a Spring Training matchup. The probable starters are Jake Arrieta for the Cubs and Zack Greinke for the Diamondbacks.

The opening line for this matchup has Chicago at -120 and Arizona at +100. 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 Diamondbacks were 67-95-0 against the run line and had a 89-67-6 over/under record. They covered the spread 41% 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 Arizona Diamondbacks Betting Trends

The Arizona Diamondbacks were 89-67-6 against the over/under last season

The Arizona Diamondbacks were 67-95-0 against the run line last season

Key Chicago Cubs Injuries

No key injuries to report

Key Arizona Diamondbacks Injuries

No key injuries to report

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Cubs are coming off a 103-58 record in 2016, including 46-34 on the road. Starting pitcher Jake Arrieta had a 18-8 record with an earned run average of 3.10 and a WHIP of 1.08. He had 190 strikeouts over his 197.1 innings pitched and he gave up 138 hits last season. He allowed 6.3 hits per 9 innings and he had a FIP of 3.52. 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. Anthony Rizzo is coming off a 2016 season in which he hit .292 with an on-base percentage of .385. He had 170 hits last season along with 94 runs scored and 109 runs batted in. He struck out 108 times and walked 74 times. Kris Bryant hit .292 last year and he had an on-base percentage of .385. He totaled 176 hits while scoring 121 runs and he drove in 102. He walked 75 times and struck out on 154 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

Arizona had a 33-48 home record and a 69-93 overall mark in 2016. With an earned run average of 4.37, Zack Greinke had a 13-7 record and a 1.27 WHIP last season. He had 134 strikeouts over the 158.2 innings he pitched during which he gave up 161 hits. He allowed 9.1 hits per nine innings and his FIP stood at 4.12. Last season the bullpen had an earned run average of 4.94 and they gave up 583 base hits on the year. Teams hit .263 against the Diamondbacks bullpen while being struck out 520 times and walking 260 times last season. As a team, Arizona allowed 9.69 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.17 batters per nine innings. They were 30th in the league in team earned run average at 5.09. The Diamondbacks pitchers as a team surrendered 1,563 base knocks and 821 earned runs last season. They gave up 202 home runs last year and they gave up 1.3 home runs per nine innings as a staff. Arizona as a staff walked 603 hitters and struck out 1,318. They gave up a walk 3.7 times per 9 innings while they struck out 8.2 per 9. Their team WHIP was 1.49 while their FIP as a staff was 4.50.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they batted .261, good for 8th in the league while putting together a .270 average at home. The Diamondbacks held a .432 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .320 which was good for 17th in baseball. They ranked 4th in baseball with 9.13 hits per contest. Yasmany Tomas comes into this matchup after batting .272 with an OBP of .313. He had 144 hits last year along with 72 runs scored and 83 RBI. He struck out 136 times and walked on 31 occasions. Paul Goldschmidt hit .297 in 2016 and he had an OBP of .411. He collected 172 hits while scoring 106 runs and driving in 95. He earned a walk 110 times and punched out 150 times. The Diamondbacks as a unit had 1,479 base hits, including 285 doubles and 190 homers. They had 137 stolen bases and were thrown out 31 times. Arizona as a team walked 463 times last year and they struck out 1,427 times. They had 1,113 men left on base and had an OPS of .752. They scored 4.64 runs per game and totaled 752 runs last season.

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

Guy's Pick: Take the Cubs -120

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