MLB 1st 5 Inning Totals Triple Play-Wednesday
- Handicapper
- Jim Feist
- League
- MLB
- Competition
- Chicago Cubs vs Philadelphia Phillies
- Release Date
- 04/15/2026 12:17 PM
- Event Date
- 04/15/2026 06:40 PM
- Bet Type
- 1st Half Over / Under
- Pick
-
Chicago Cubs vs Philadelphia Phillies Under 4.5 (-110)
(BetOnline)
- Outcome
- Loss
- Analysis
- Starting pitching leads the way when looking for the best bets for Cubs-Phillies on Wednesday. Chicago will start Shota Imanaga, who was hitting for a 2.81 ERA before Wednesday’s game while Philadelphia was scheduled to start Jesus Luzardo, who has been flashing strikeout potential and entered Wednesday’s game with a 6.50 K/BB ratio. Cubs series preview listed the likely pitching matchup for Wednesday’s finale and that duo offers up plenty of upside to the under staying intact early.
Adding onto that opening point is an opportunity for both offenses to simply tighten things up after Tuesday’s game went wild in the late innings. Chicago won the series opener against Philadelphia 10-4, but games like that can often lead to lower-scoring affairs the following day because both teams should get stronger starting pitching after turning it over to deeper bullpens in game two. Tuesday’s victory was propelled by the Cubs collecting 15 hits and the Cubs preview still had Wednesday’s game starting Imanaga against Luzardo, which projects much differently than the matchup that yielded Tuesday’s offensive barrage.
Speaking of Imanaga, he’s primarily why the under leans from Chicago’s perspective. Not only did the Cubs preview him with a 2.81 ERA, but he also posted various run-prevention metrics that point toward success and he’s a left-hander that can miss bats and work efficiently when establishing early count leverage. Luzardo offers the Phillies a similar profile on the opposing side of the matchup. Luzardo’s ERA entering Wednesday was less than ideal compared to Imanaga, but he still had fly ball-friendly strikeout stuff that plays up when betting on the first five innings only because strike outs are a great way to shorten potential rallies.
Overall, it’s fairly straightforward why betting the under the first 5 innings could pay off in this series finale. The best team to bet on here is the Cubs, not their in-state rivals the White Sox, and the game itself is setup with Imanaga against Luzardo. Both are quality lefties who offer much more promise than the starting pitchers did on Tuesday. With a 10-4 game happening on Tuesday, expect Wednesday’s matchup to be a better reflection of the two starting staffs and how they can keep runs off the board early.
Jim's Play: 901. Cubs/Phillies UNDER 1st 5 Innings