OffshoreInsiders.com Senior Sports Handicapper Matt Rivers has a free pick Friday is on the Chicago Cubs (+160) at St. Louis.
Reasoning: Certainly I don't love backing the underachieving Cubbies without Alfonso Soriano around but the Cardinals just lost Matt Holliday and after Jaime Garcia's last outing why not grab a ton of coin here with the at least potential of the Cubs.
Chicago's going nowhere this season but they are not a terrible team to back as the big dog. No doubt when they are the big chalk I will run to the window and fade the heck out of them but in this spot I'll take my chances with Ramirez, Fukudome, Castro and others. The days where this franchise was pretty good appear to be gone but they aren't terrible and Ryan Dempster and that sinker can be very good at times.
The first month of the season was awful for the Chicago ace but the Dumpster has settled in and has been looking very good once again. I'm not saying he is on the high level of Garcia when the southpaw is on but the lefthander was pounded in that last game and who knows if that was the beginning of a little rut. I will give any player a pass for one egg but the previous one wasn't as good as before and quite possibly we have a bit of a downward trend developing.
All in all the Cardinals at Busch are obviously the superior team as the records clearly would attest to. But the Cubbies have enough, especially with an improving Dempster, to compete and win the game in the end.
Top expert pick on this game: Chicago Cubs
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