Javier Baez and the Chicago Cubs will head south to face their divisional rival St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. The matchup will get going at 8:15 p.m. ET and NBC Sports Chicago will broadcast the game.
Chicago Cubs at St. Louis Cardinals Odds
St. Louis (-130) is the favorite over Chicago (+120) and Vegas has set the Over/Under for this one at 9.5 runs (+105 for the over and -125 for the under). There’s a runline of Cubs +1.5 (-175) and Cardinals -1.5 (+155) for this matchup.
The Cardinals are 27-28 straight up (SU) and 28-26 against the spread (ATS). The team has lost 8.3 units for bettors taking the moneyline while gaining 1.8 units ATS. St. Louis has a 3-4 ATS mark over its last seven games and the total has gone under in three of those seven. The Cubs are 31-23 SU and have gone 25-29 against the spread. In total, the team’s gained 2.5 units for moneyline gamblers, but have lost 5.0 units ATS. Chicago has covered the spread only twice over its last seven games and the total has gone over in six of those seven.
St. Louis games have had an over/under record of 26-24-4 so far in 2019. The Cubs have been a decent over bet with a total record of 31-22-1.
The right-handed Yu Darvish is getting the nod for the visiting Cubs. Darvish is 2-3 with a 5.40 ERA and 67 strikeouts. He’s 0-0 with four strikeouts and an 11.25 ERA against St. Louis this year.
The Cardinals are putting the ball in the right hand of Miles Mikolas (4-5, 4.76 ERA), who has 46 strikeouts and 10 walks as well as a 1.17 WHIP. Mikolas has yet to face the Cubs this year, but he made four starts against them in 2018, compiling a perfect 3-0 record with a 1.38 ERA and 18 strikeouts.
Chicago’s pitchers have allowed 4.4 runs per game and its starters own a 3.90 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 8.53 K/9. The bullpen has logged an ERA of 3.95, along with a K/9 of 9.11.
The Cubs offense has slashed .257/.349/.463 on its way to 5.3 runs scored per game this season, including 5.2 runs per game against divisional foes and 4.6 per game over the team’s last five contests (2-3 SU).
Shortstop Javier Baez and first baseman Anthony Rizzo have led Chicago’s hitters. Baez is hitting .307/.350/.573 with 13 home runs, 34 RBIs and 37 runs scored, while Rizzo is hitting .289 with 15 homers, 42 RBIs and 36 runs scored.
For the home team, St. Louis’ pitchers have allowed 4.7 runs per game overall this year. Its starters have an ERA of 4.56, a WHIP of 1.39 and a strikeouts-per-nine of 7.9. The bullpen has a 4.30 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 10.4 K/9. In 24 divisional games, Cardinals starters have an ERA of 5.20 and the bullpen’s ERA is 5.49.
The St. Louis offense is putting up 4.9 runs per contest, including 5.3 per game against divisional foes and 4.2 per game over its last five. The team has slashed .204/.277/.359 over its last five games and is 2-3 SU during that stretch.
Shortstop Paul DeJong and first baseman Paul Goldschmidt have led the Cardinals’ offense this year. DeJong is slashing .284/.385/.495 with eight home runs, 26 RBIs and 41 runs scored, while Goldschmidt’s line sits at .275/.365/.450 with 11 homers, 26 RBIs and 36 runs.
The Cubs have lost 0.3 units and are 20-23 ATS when facing a right-handed starting pitcher this year. The over has cashed in 25 of those games, as opposed to 18 that’ve hit the under against righties. On the other hand, the Cardinals have lost 4.1 units and are 25-21 ATS when facing a righty starter. The over has cashed in 22 of those games, compared to 21 that went under the total.
Cubs at Cardinals Pick
Predictions: SU Winner – Cardinals, ATS Winner – Cubs, O/U – OVER
Betting Notes
- Chicago has tallied 20 extra-base hits over its last five outings. St. Louis has 10 XBH over its last five.
- Chicago has posted 23.4 Runs + Hits + Errors per game over its last 10 outings and 22.2 over its last five.
- The Cubs have hit 23 home runs in their last 10 games, including 15 over their last five.
- The Cubs have a total OPS of .812 this season and an OPS of .822 when facing right-handed pitchers. The Cardinals’ OPS sits at .751 overall and .759 versus righties.
