Pittsburgh Pirates @ Chicago Cubs (B.Burres @ T.Gorzelanny)
This has to be one of the more dissatisfying pitcher match ups of the day, opening the board at 1:30pm (central time). Nonetheless, I've been playing both these clubs enough to gain good observations and THINK I know roughly what to expect. Gorzelanny was an ex-Pirate who started out promising, and went off track. The Cubs seemed to have redeveloped him into a quality starter once again, based on his progressive performance. Burres spent the last 2 years in the American League, starting for Baltimore 2 years back, then a stint with the Blue Jays--both unsuccessful. I recall betting against him on clockwork, waiting for his starts. Last series, Pittsburgh home swept the Cubs in 3 games-In his start, Burres shut out the Cubs through 7 innings, they hit .125 vs. him. A past performance: He pitched 1 inning in Wrigley Field last year, got shelled for 3 hits in that inning giving up a run. The Cubs have been cold as of late getting bested in their last few series, notably the Pirates sweep-but they have played with their batting order removing and adding pieces (S.Castro) and in the end this mix and match thing should work for the better. The line ups look healthier on paper and should translate into more runs, I hope. Pittsburgh has scored 1 run in their last 3 games, getting swept by the dangerous Cincinnati Reds. The Pirates aren't hitting right now and the Cubs kind of look like they are taking baby steps towards where they should be. I don't think Burres has it in him to outfox the Cubs again, especially in their park and I expect an offensive breakout. On the flip side I wish I could put more stock in Gorzelanny, but I'm going to base this play on the NorthSide Chi line up.
Chicago Cubs -1 (-170)
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