The Cubs have fallen into a funk losing four straight, and trying to get back on the winning track against Cliff Lee and the Philadelphia Phillies will be too tough on Thursday afternoon.
The Phillies will be seeking the series sweep of the Cubs on Thursday afternoon at Wrigley Field after taking Game 2 on Wednesday by a final score of 12-5 and the opener on Tuesday 4-3.
Philadelphia will send recently acquired lefthander Cliff Lee to the bump with his 3-0 record his last three starts and an ERA of 1.57. Philly is 33-19 (+15.5) on the road, 15-5 (+8.9) on the road with a moneyline of -100 to -150 and 22-12 (+12.2) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
Chicago will hang their hopes of salvaging one game in this series on Ryan Dempster who is 6-5 on the year with an ERA of 4.04, including 4-1 at home with an ERA of 4.62. The Cubs are 7-17 (-10.9) when playing against a team with a win percentage of 54 to 62 percent, 9-20 (-12.9) versus a starting pitcher who strikes out five or more batters per start and 4-21 (-16.4) as an underdog of +100 or higher this season.
The Phillies are active in a MLB system that tells us to play on teams with a starting pitcher that gives up seven or more hits per start with a WHIP of 1.000 or less over his last five starts for a record of 14-4 the last three seasons, and a profit of +10.1 units. The five year-mark for this system is 39-14 (73.6%) for +24.6 units of profit.
Lay the chalk with Philly as they complete the sweep of the Chicago Cubs on Thursday afternoon at Wrigley Field.
Projected Final Score: Philadelphia-2 Chicago-0
Free Pick: Phillies -140