Sports Advisors


L.A. Dodgers (34-17) at Chicago Cubs (25-23)
The Dodgers conclude their four-game series at Wrigley Field when they hand the ball to southpaw Eric Milton (1-0, 3.00) while the Cubs counter with fellow lefty Sean Marshall (3-3, 3.70) in a nationally televised contest.

Chicago lost Thursday’s series-opener 2-1 but has come back to win the last two by scores of 2-1 on Friday and 7-0 on Saturday. The Cubs have followed up an eight-game losing skid by winning four of their last five, and they’re 12-4 in their last 16 at Wrigley Field. Lou Pineilla’s squad is on further upticks of 17-7 on Sunday, 36-17 at home against southpaw starters and 7-3 in the fourth game of a series.

Los Angeles has dropped consecutive games for just the third time this month and the first time since May 10 and 12. The Dodgers are still 57-29 in their last 86 games dating to last year, including 20-9 in the last 29. Additionally, Joe Torre’s squad is on runs of 5-2 on the highway, 9-5 against the N.L. Central, 20-8 against southpaw starters and 7-3 against teams with a winning record.

Despite losing the last two days, L.A. is still 6-3 in its last nine against the Cubs, including sweeping last year’s best-of-5 playoff series.

Milton earned his first major-league victory since September 2006 on Tuesday at Colorado, limiting the Rockies to a run on seven hits over five innings en route to a 7-1 win. In his first start with Los Angeles on May 16 in Florida, the veteran lefty pitched just four innings, yielding two runs on two hits and four walks, getting a no-decision in his team’s 6-3 loss.

Marshall dominated Pittsburgh on Tuesday, giving up just a run on four hits in five innings in a 6-1 home victory, improving to 2-1 with a 3.70 ERA at Wrigley Field this year. Marshall is 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA in his last three trips to the mound overall, but despite this recent surge, with Marshall pitching the Cubs are still in funks of 7-19 overall, 1-6 at Wrigley, 3-13 versus winning teams, 1-5 against the N.L. West and 2-5 on Sunday.

Milton is 3-3 with a hefty 6.35 ERA in 12 career starts against the Cubs, including 3-1 with a 6.70 ERA in eight starts at Wrigley, where he’s surrendered 14 home runs in 43 innings. Meanwhile, in two career starts against the Dodgers (both in 2006), Marshall gave up nine runs (five earned) in 8 2/3 innings (5.19 ERA), with Chicago winning both games (5-4 on the road and 9-8 at home).

The Dodgers have topped the total in six straight Sunday games, while the Cubs are 5-1 “over” in their last six on Sunday. Otherwise, though, Chicago is on “under” pushes of 5-0 overall (all at home), 5-1 against the N.L. West, 20-8-1 with Marshall pitching, 5-1 when Marshall goes up against the N.L. West and 8-0 when Marshall works on Sunday.

Finally, the under is 10-4 in the last 14 Dodgers-Cubs clashes and 7-2 in the past nine battles in the Friendly Confines (3-0 in this series).

ATS ADVANTAGE: UNDER




AMERICAN LEAGUE

Boston (28-22) at Toronto (29-23)

These A.L. East rivals wrap up a three-game series at the Rogers Centre, with the Blue Jays gunning for the sweep when they send rookie Ricky Romero (2-1, 3.08) to the hill opposite struggling Jon Lester (3-5, 6.07) in a battle of southpaws.

The Blue Jays snapped a nine-game losing skid with Friday’s 6-3 win over Boston, then rallied for Saturday’s 5-3 victory. Toronto has won six straight and 15 of 19 in Canada and is 45-21 at Rogers Centre dating to last year, and Cito Gaston’s club is also 5-1 in its last six on Sunday. However, the Jays remain in slumps of 2-8 against A.L. East foes and 2-6 against teams with a winning record.

Boston is just 3-6 in its last nine games and 3-8 in its last 11 on the road (2-4 on its current trip), but the Red Sox are still on positive streaks of 13-6 against winning teams, 4-2 against the A.L. East and 10-4 versus left-handed starters.

The Red Sox are on a 6-3 roll against the Blue Jays, but they’ve now dropped 10 of their last 14 in Canada. In fact, the host has won all five meetings between these clubs this year and eight of 10 dating to 2008.

Lester’s inconsistency continued Monday at Minnesota as he pitched five scoreless innings before imploding in the sixth and he finished allowing five runs in six frames, losing 5-2. Lester is 1-3 with a 7.66 ERA in his last four starts (0-2, 7.71 ERA on the road).

With Lester pitching, Boston carries streaks of 4-0 against winning teams, 8-2 on Sunday, 4-1 against A.L. East rivals and 13-3 in the third game of a series, but it is 3-7 in his last 10 road starts. On the season, Lester is 1-3 with a 7.04 ERA as a visitor. However, his best start in the past month came against the Blue Jays at home on May 21, allowing a run on eight hits in 6 1/3 innings en route to a 5-1 victory, improving to 2-2 with a 3.52 ERA in six career starts vs. Toronto.

Romero went 2-0 with a 1.71 ERA in three starts in April (2-0, 1.38 ERA in two home starts). However, he got roughed up in his return to the rotation Tuesday at Baltimore, giving up five runs on 11 hits in 5 1/3 innings of a 7-2 loss. Overall, Romero has 16 strikeouts against just five walks in 26 1/3 innings in the big leagues.

The over is 13-7 in Boston’s last 20 games against lefty starters, but otherwise the Sox are on “under” stretches of 12-3-1 overall (5-0 last five, all on the road), 8-1-1 on the road, 11-2-1 on Sunday, 7-2 against winning clubs and 4-1 when Lester works on Sunday. Likewise, Toronto is on “under” runs of 7-2 at home, 10-3 versus divisional foes (5-1 last six) and 4-0 in Romero’s first four major-league starts. Lastly, the under is on a 7-2 roll in this rivalry.

ATS ADVANTAGE: UNDER