Wednesday, April 30

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NATIONAL LEAGUE

Milwaukee (15-11) at Chicago Cubs (16-10)

The Brewers send veteran right-hander Jeff Suppan (1-0, 3.48 ERA) to the hill at Wrigley Field against the Cubs and right-hander Ryan Dempster (3-0, 2.90) in the second game of a three-game series.

Milwaukee outslugged the Cubs 10-7 in Tuesday’s opener and has now alternated wins and losses in its last four games, though the Brewers are 4-1 in their last five on the road. Meanwhile, Chicago has followed a six-game winning streak by dropping four of its last five. The Cubs also had a five-game home winning streak snapped last night, but is still 9-2 in its last 11 at Wrigley.

These two teams opened the season against each other, with the Brew Crew taking two of three at Wrigley Field. Suppan notched one of those wins, allowing two runs on six hits in 6 1/3 innings on April 2 as Milwaukee rolled 8-2. Dempster got the Cubs’ lone win in that series the following day, yielding two runs on three hits in six innings, prevailing 6-3. The Cubs won the season series last year 9-6, going 5-4 at home against Milwaukee.

Suppan has had solid outings in four of his five starts, but he’s only managed one decision – the victory over the Cubs on April 2. Most recently, he allowed just one run on five hits in seven innings on Thursday against Philadelphia, but couldn’t get any offensive or bullpen help in a 3-1 home loss.

Suppan is 6-5 with a 3.13 ERA in 17 starts against Chicago. Last year on the highway, he went just 3-9 with a 5.38 ERA, though he was 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA in two starts at Wrigley in 2007.

Along with his three wins this season, Dempster has a pair of no-decisions, including his last outing, in which he allowed three runs on four hits in seven innings as the Cubs came up short 5-3 Friday at Washington. He is 5-2 with a 2.40 ERA in 31 lifetime appearances (nine starts) against the Brewers. Before this season, Dempster hadn’t started a game since the 2005 season, as he served as the Cubs’ closer the past two years, notching 28 saves and a posting a 2-7 record in 66 relief appearances in 2007.

The Brewers are on streaks of 6-1 overall when Suppan starts, 7-0 when Suppan faces the N.L. Central, and 4-1 when he works on the road. On the downside, Milwaukee is 0-5 in Suppan’s last five road starts against a winning team and 4-12 in the team’s last 16 games on Wednesdays.

The Cubs are on runs of 15-7 overall, 7-2 at home against right-handed starters, 8-4 overall against righties and 23-8 against the N.L. Central. They’re also 4-0 in Dempster’s last four starts within the division.

For Milwaukee, the under is on streaks of 4-1 overall, 4-1 on the highway, 20-8-2 on the road against right-handed starters, 6-2 overall versus righties, 3-1 in Suppan’s last four starts overall and 5-1 in his last six outings against the Cubs. For Chicago, the over is 9-1 in its last 10 against the N.L. Central and 4-1-1 in Dempster’s last six division starts, but the under has cashed in four of the last five overall for Lou Piniella’s club.

ATS ADVANTAGE: CHICAGO and UNDER

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Oakland (17-11) at L.A. Angels (17-11)

The Athletics will have left-hander Dana Eveland (3-1, 2.48) toeing the slab for the third game of a four-game road trip against the American League West rival Angels, who will hand the ball to red-hot Ervin Santana (4-0, 2.97).

After getting shellacked 14-2 in Monday’s series opener, the Angels came back Tuesday and rode Joe Saunders’ outstanding pitching performance to a 2-0 victory. Los Angeles has alternated wins and losses in its last five games, but is 5-2 in its last seven.

Oakland is still on an 8-3 tear, going 5-2 in its last seven, and the A’s have won each of their last three series.

This is the first series this season between these division rivals. Last year, Oakland narrowly edged the Angels 10-9, going 5-5 in Los Angeles. On the bright side for Los Angeles, it is 6-1 in Santana’s last seven starts against the A’s and 4-1 in his last five home outings against Oakland.

Eveland opened the season with two solid starts, notching a win and a no-decision while allowing a total of just one run in 13 1/3 innings. He then took a road loss at the Chicago White Sox in which he gave up four runs on five hits in 4 2/3 innings – his shortest outing of the season. But he’s since bounced back with two straight wins, allowing a combined four runs on nine hits in 11 innings in wins over the Royals (7-1 at home) and Mariners (4-3 on the road).

The 24-year-old Eveland, who had just one start in five appearances for Arizona last season, is 5-5 with a 5.98 ERA in 46 career big-league appearances (11 starts).

In his last start, Santana gave up three runs on six hits in 6 1/3 innings as Los Angeles edged Detroit 4-3 on the road Friday. The lone blemish on Santana’s record this year was a no-decision in a 4-3 home loss to Cleveland on April 8. Even in that outing, the right-hander allowed just two runs on six hits in six innings.

Santana has been stellar against Oakland in his career, going 7-1 with a 1.38 ERA in 10 games (nine starts). He’s also 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA in two home starts this season.

The Athletics are on hot streaks of 9-4 on the road, 7-0 on the road against right-handed starters, 7-2 against winning teams and 16-7 on Wednesdays. However, Oakland is just 4-10 in its last 14 matchups against the A.L. West.

The Angels are a sterling 27-10 in Santana’s last 37 home starts and are on further positive runs of 5-1 against left-handed starters, 6-2 inside the division, 6-2 with Santana going against a winning team and 19-7 when Santana battles the A.L. West.

Last night’s game easily stayed under the total, continuing strong under trends in this rivalry of 37-15-2 overall and 27-9 in Los Angeles, and the under is 8-1 in Santana’s nine career starts against the A’s (4-1 at home). The under is also 5-0 in Eveland’s five starts this season, 7-2-1 in Oakland’s last 10 versus the A.L. West and 6-2 in its last eight on the road. Finally, for L.A., the under is on streaks of 8-3-2 overall, 5-1-1 at home, 6-1 against right-handed starters and 4-0 when Santana works at home.

ATS ADVANTAGE: L.A. ANGELS and UNDER

Al DeMarco, General Manager of PickNation.com, is a 25-year veteran of the handicapping industry who is also the featured handicapping analyst on Comcast Sports TV in New York and Chicago and a regular contributor on Fox Sports, MSNBC and The Sporting News. Read his Daily Blog for his gambling insight, tips and observations at PickNation.com