The Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks have both seen their leads in their divisions shrink quickly lately and baseball bettors have been quick to hop on the trend and turn a profit.

The Cubs' lead over the Cardinals in the NL Central is down to only two games, while the Brewers are also on their tail, three games back. The Diamondbacks have completely lost their lead in the NL West and sit tied atop that division with the Dodgers.

Arizona would have a small one-game lead if they hadn't given up five runs to the Dodgers in the ninth inning in a 6-5 loss on Sunday. Both the Cubs and D-Backs are in need of wins this week when they clash in a three-game set in Arizona.

It's post-All-Star Break and time to ride the momentum waves that will carry teams to the playoffs (and your betting bankroll to new heights) and to fade those first-half teams that are overheated and bad value.

Rich Harden will make his second start in a Cubs uniform on Monday, while the Diamondbacks will go with veteran lefthander Randy Johnson. The Cubs are -140 favorites to open the betting at . http://www.pointspread.com/MLB/Stats?sport=mlb&rotation=961Click here{/URL} for baseball betting trends and analysis in the http://www.pointspread.com/MLB/Stats?sport=mlb&rotation=961matchup report{/URL}.

Harden (5-1, 2.19) was dominant is his Cubs debut with 5 1-3 shutout innings against the Giants in which he struck out 10. Harden was denied the win after the Cubs' bullpen gave up two runs in the eighth inning and five more runs in the ninth to send the game to extra innings.

Between the Cubs and the Athletics (during interleague play) Harden has been outstanding against NL opponents this season with a 3-0 record and a microscopic 0.56 ERA in five starts. Harden also racked up 43 strikeouts in 32 innings.

Johnson may finally be through his rough stretch after winning his last two starts. Before those two wins Johnson had lost six straight. Johnson picked up a win against Philadelphia last time out despite giving up four runs on five hits in six innings.

The total opened at 8, but neither team has shown any tendencies toward the over or under this season.
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