Tonight’s match up in the Windy City is one between a couple of teams in the basement in their respective divisions. While the Phillies have won 4 straight they are sill in last place in the NL East since each team in the division is playing well. <\/p>\n
Venue\/ Stadium: Wrigley Field, Chicago, Illinois<\/strong> Matchup<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Preview<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Philadelphia Phillies vs. Chicago Cubs Preview<\/strong><\/p>\n The Cubs have lost 2 straight and are 5-5 in their last 10 games. The Phillies are favored tonight even though they have lost 5 straight games when reigning Cy Young winner Roy Halladay gets the start.<\/p>\n In yesterday’s game between these 2 teams the Phillies crushed the Cubs 9-2.<\/p>\n This season the Phillies have an O\/U record of 21-16 with a run-line W\/L record of 17-21 and the Cubs have an O\/U record of 18-18 with a run-line W\/L record of 20-17.<\/p>\n On the season the Phillies are 10-10 on the road and the Cubs are 9-11 at home.<\/p>\n Halladay (3-3, 3.20 ERA) takes the hill tonight for the Phillies and in his last start he only gave up 2 earned runs in 7 innings, but still took a loss facing the Padres. C. Volstad (0-5, 6.92 ERA) gets the start for the Cubs and in his last outing he struggled giving up 6 runs in 6 innings in a loss to the Brewers.<\/p>\n In Halladay’s last 5 starts he is 0-3, but he has only gotten an average of 2.7 runs of support in that span.\u00a0\u00a0[dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]<\/p>\n Halladay’s recent struggles are nothing compared to Volstad’s, who is 0-10 with a 5.15 ERA over his last 18 starts and is 0-4 with an 8.02 ERA over his last 8 starts against Philadelphia.<\/p>\n Volstad may have to have a good start, as the Chicago offense only ranks 22nd in the Majors in runs scored AND their relievers have an 8.57 ERA over the last 6 games.<\/p>\n Volstad really has to worry about Carlos Ruiz and Jimmy Rollins, who are each hitting over .430 against him. Ruiz has been one of the bright spots for the Phillies’ offense, which ranks 19th in the Majors in runs scored, hitting over .400 in his last 18 games.<\/p>\n In some betting trends for this NL match up the Phillies are 4-1 in their last 5 games as a favorite, 20-8 in Halladay’s last 28 road starts, and they have an Over record of 4-0 in their last 4 road games.<\/p>\n The Cubs are 9-2 in their last 11 games following a loss, 0-4 in Volstad’s last 4 home starts, and they have an Over record of 6-0 in their last 6 games.<\/p>\n
\nTime\/Date: 8:05 PM EST Thursday, May 17, 2012<\/strong>
\nMLB Odds From: Bovada<\/a><\/strong>
\nMoneyline: Phillies -180 \/ Cubs +160 <\/strong>
\nOver\/Under:\u00a0 OFF<\/strong><\/p>\n