How To Bet the Chicago Cubs @ Arizona Diamondbacks Spread

First base will feature a pair of blossoming superstars when Chicago’s Anthony Rizzo and Arizona’s Paul Goldschmidt take to the field on Thursday in Game 1 of a three-game set between the Cubs and Diamondbacks. The pair finished second and first respectively in home runs and RBI by NL first basemen a year ago and are primed for even bigger things in 2016 as they help their teams contend to appear in the 2016 World Series. Goldschmidt, a three-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger winner, put together a stellar 2015 campaign by hitting .324 last season. Rizzo hit 278. for the Cubs a year ago and has made to All-Star Game appearances in his young career. Goldschmidt finished a stellar second in the National League MVP voting last year while Rizzo finished fourth. “I really enjoy watching him play,” Rizzo said of Goldschmidt. “We’re similar. He runs the bases, I try to run the bases, we both play defense and he hits. He plays all aspects of the game.” Now, let’s find out which one of these elite young stars will help lead their team to victory in this intriguing MLB betting odds pairing.

How To Bet The Cubs (2-0) @ Diamondbacks (1-1) MLB Odds, TV & Game Info

When: Thursday, April 07 – 9:40 PM EST Where: Chase Field, Phoenix, Arizona Starting Pitchers: Chicago: John Lackey (R) Arizona: Rubby De La Rosa (R) TV: CSN MLB Odds: Cubs -160

Cubs win! Final: #Cubs 6, #Angels 1. #LetsGo pic.twitter.com/UpQulIjHvy

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 6, 2016

Why Bet the Chicago Cubs at -160

Because they’re absolutely loaded with talent! Chicago absolutely pounded the L.A. Angels in their first two games of the season, winning their opener 9-0 before taking Game 2 by a score of 6-1. John Lackey will make his debut for the Cubs after signing a two-year contract this offseason. The veteran right-hander played in three Cactus League games and made two starts in the minors to tune up for the regular season.

Why Bet the Arizona Diamondbacks at +140

The D-Backs are a good bet because De La Rosa seems to go ‘lights out’ every other start. Arizona bounced back from its humbling 10-5 season-opening loss against Colorado to take Game 2 by a score of 11-6. Now, the Diamondbacks will look to hand the Cubs a statement-making loss. Rubby De La Rosa will get the start for Arizona, but that may not be such good thing seeing as how the veteran right-hander had an uneven spring in getting smacked around for 14 earned runs over 16.1 innings covering three starts this spring. De La Rosa was named the fourth starter after camp opened, but was wildly inconsistent.

My Expert Prediction and Pick

For this contest, I’m going to urge you to back the Chicago Cubs to deliver the same message that up-and-coming Arizona wants to deliver….that all roads to the World Series in the National League, will go through Chi-Town. The Cubs are 4-0 in their last four games against teams from the NL West and a blistering 13-3 in their last 16 road games. While the Diamondbacks have gone 7-1 in their last eight games against a right-handed starter and 5-1 in their last half-dozen home games versus a right-handed starter, the Cubs have gone 9-3 in their last dozen road games against a right-handed starter and an insane 18-6 in their last 24 Game 1 of a series. More importantly, the Diamondbacks are just 1-4 in De La Rosa’s L/5 starts against a team with a winning record and 0-5 in De La Rosa’s last 5 home starts against a team with a winning record. With the Cubs going 4-1 in the last 5 meetings against the D-Backs, I say they get the win by two runs minimum. My final score prediction: Chicago 6 Arizona 4