Wednesday night’s game between the Phillies and Cubs should be entertaining as Pedro Martinez makes his debut with Philadelphia while Jeff Samardzija makes his first-ever start for Chicago. Watch all the action live on ESPN at 8:05 PM EST. SBG Global reports that the early Wagering Lines sees the public taking the Cubs at home as a -113 favorite with a total 10 over -120.

Pedro is taking Jamie Moyer’s spot in the rotation for the Phillies. Pedro has not pitched since last season with the Mets and wasn’t that great in Triple A, going 1-1 with a 5.11 ERA. Samardzija hasn’t been anything special for the Cubs either. He is 1-1 this season with a 6.29 ERA. There is no question the bullpens for both teams are going to be seen in this game.

The Phillies are hoping Pedro provides a boost to their pitching staff. "We just felt that Pedro is pitching well enough that he deserves a chance to pitch in the rotation, and we hope it’s an upgrade," Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. The move of Moyer to the bullpen was not an easy one for the Phillies considering he won 16 games for the team last year and has 10 wins this season. "Clearly, he’s got a lot more of a track record and he’s done a lot more for us than your average pitcher," Amaro said. "Jamie has dedicated himself to his starts and to his performance and he will continue to do that, but we are trying to do what we can to win baseball games and win this division. And these are baseball decisions that are made collectively, and we feel it’s for the betterment of our club."

This game is just one of many important ones for Chicago as they try and stay in the race. "They’re all big now," Cubs shortstop Ryan Theriot said. "I don’t think it matters who it is. All these games are important. You want to win all of them at this point in the season. So whether it’s a team with a winning record or not, you still want to win those ball games.”

Take a look at the MLB Lines stats for Wednesday’s game. The Phillies are 21-7 in their last 28 games as a road favorite. The Phillies are 4-11 in their last 15 Wednesday games. The Cubs are 17-38 in their last 55 games as a home underdog. The Under is 7-2 in the Phillies last 9 games vs. a right-handed starter. The Under is 14-5 in the Phillies last 19 Wednesday games. The Under is 11-4-2 in the last 17 meetings in Chicago between the two teams.

August ushers in the dog days of summer, soaring temperatures and truly meaningful baseball games…finally. Sports bettors have been focused on baseball for months, as the daily baseball wagering lines have bettors grinding out the long season. But now the heat gets really turned up, as teams, fans and bettors begin to get serious. With the stretch drive on the horizon, these wins and losses have real implications for many teams. The Division and Wild-Card races are on.

The AL East, as usual, demands a ton of attention. Currently it looks like business as usual with the New York Yankees leading the division and the Boston Red Sox trying to chase them down (2.5-games back). Online sportsbook SportsBetting.com has the Yankees listed as the odds-on faves to win the division, pegged at -125, while the BoSox are +100 to do the same.

Guess which two teams start a four-game series?

Red Sox at Yankees:

Going into the opener at Yankee Stadium tonight, the hometown Yanks are listed at -175 while the visiting Boston Red Sox are +155 underdogs—the Total is set at 10.

Despite the AL East lead, the Yanks have struggled against the BoSox recently. In the last nine games overall between the two, the Yanks have yet to win, going 0-9 straight up. Total bettors take note as these two have combined for a mark of 1 over, 6 unders and 2 pushes in those nine games. The Yanks’ last 10 home games against Boston haven’t gone well either as they are 3-7 SU.

The Red Sox send veteran John Smoltz to the mound. Boston has not fared well in Smoltz’s starts, going 2-5 when he has taken the mound to start a game. The same can’t be said for the Yanks, who have Joba Chamberlain going for them. In his last nine home starts, the Yanks are an impressive 8-1 and 4-0 in his last four starts.

Early betting action has tilted to the Yankees, as SportsBetting.com is reporting 71% of all the action on New York.

Live on ESPN, the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays complete a brief two-game series on Wednesday night at 8:05 PM EST. The Red Sox will have to avoid looking ahead since they begin a four-game series against the Yankees tomorrow. The matchup on Wednesday is ESPN’s feature game and has Brad Penny facing David Price. Penny is 7-5 with a 5.07 ERA while Price is 4-4 with a 5.10 ERA. SBG Global Sportsbook reports that the early MLB sports wagering sees the public taking the Red Sox on the road as +132 underdogs with a total 9.5 over -120.

Penny was shelled for seven earned runs last week against Oakland in just five innings. He has not pitched well in his career against the Rays going 2-3 with a 5.06 ERA. Price was good in his last start against Kansas City and he has been very good at home this season going 4-1 with a 2.67 ERA.

One hitter that Price didn’t see last time he faced Boston was Victor Martinez. The Red Sox picked up him in a trade with Cleveland and he is already making a huge difference for Boston. "One hitter can make a lot of difference. He’s a switch-hitter. I know we’ve had our struggles offensively.” Manager Terry Francona said, “We like our hitters. But this will certainly help our lineup."

The Red Sox are simply a much better team with Victor Martinez in the starting lineup. "We still have to go out there and win ballgames, but on paper, I think it makes us a much better team," Boston’s Jason Bay said.

Take a look at the baseball wagering lines stats for tonight’s game. The Red Sox are 5-2 in their last 7 games as an underdog. The Red Sox are 21-10 in their last 31 games vs. a left-handed starter. The Red Sox are 2-6 in Penny’s last 8 road starts. The Rays are 5-1 in Price’s last 6 home starts. The Red Sox are 1-4 in the last 5 meetings in Tampa Bay. The Under is 6-2 in the Red Sox last 8 games vs. a left-handed starter. The Under is 8-3 in Penny’s last 11 starts overall. The Under is 26-8-2 in Ray’s last 36 games vs. a right-handed starter.