The Chicago Cubs have won each of their last five series and taken over first place in the NL Central in the process. They’ll hope to stay hot when they return home Tuesday night for the series opener of a three-game set against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Diamondbacks vs. Cubs odds 2017: Chicago, Jon Lester home betting favorites for Tuesday
The Cubs will get the nod at the sportsbooks for Tuesday night as they take on another team making a run at the playoffs.
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Chicago is a -180 home betting favorite with Jon Lester on the mound at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. Patrick Corbin will attempt to lead the Diamondbacks to an upset as +155 underdogs.
Chicago Cubs
The Cubs wrapped up a five-game road trip over the weekend with four wins, taking both games over the Chicago White Sox and two of three from the Milwaukee Brewers. After an underwhelming first half that saw Chicago enter the midseason break below .500 at 43-45, the Cubs are now looking more like the team that won the World Series last year with a 13-3 second-half record.
Over that 13-3 run, the Cubs have a team ERA of 3.71 while averaging 6.54 runs per game on offense.
Lester is a perfect 3-0 since the All-Star break with a 2.05 ERA and a 0.68 WHIP over his last three starts. Chicago is 20-5 in Lester’s last 25 home starts, per the OddsShark MLB Database.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Arizona has not enjoyed a second-half surge like the one that the Cubs are on. Instead, the Diamondbacks are hovering around .500, going 7-9 through their first 16 games out of the All-Star break. With the Los Angeles Dodgers running away with the NL West, Arizona’s main focus over the next month will be to hold on to a wild card spot.
The Diamondbacks enter Tuesday with a five-game lead over Milwaukee in the wild card standings. Arizona is just 2-8 in its last 10 games against Chicago.
The UNDER is 5-1 in the last six meetings between these two teams at the sportsbooks.
At 60-45, Arizona has a better season record than Chicago’s 56-48 coming into this series, but the Cubs seem to have the momentum. Wednesday’s game will pit Zack Godley against Jake Arrieta, and Thursday’s game sets up as a pitcher’s duel between Zack Greinke and Jose Quintana.
Arizona Diamondbacks at Chicago Cubs
When: Tuesday, 8:05 p.m. ET
Where: Wrigley Field, Chicago, Ill.
