The St. Louis Cardinals will head north to Wrigley Field to face their NL Central foe Chicago Cubs. The matchup will begin at 2:20 p.m. ET and fans hoping to watch it can tune in to NBC Sports Chicago.
St. Louis Cardinals at Chicago Cubs Odds
The Cardinals are 31-29 SU and are 31-28 against the spread (ATS). They’ve lost 5.3 units for bettors taking the moneyline, despite having gained 3.1 units ATS. St. Louis has covered the spread four times in its last seven games and the under has hit in five of those seven. The Cubs, on the other hand, are 34-27 SU and 28-32 ATS. They’ve gained 2.5 units for bettors taking the moneyline while gaining 5.5 units ATS. Chicago has a 3-4 ATS mark over its last seven outings and the total has gone under in four of those seven.
Cubs games have had an over/under record of 33-25-2 so far in 2019. Cardinals games have gone under 28 times, gone over 27 times and pushed on four instances.
Miles Mikolas is getting the nod for the visiting Cardinals. The right-handed Mikolas (4-5, 4.41 ERA) has recorded 49 strikeouts in 69.1 innings so far. He’s 0-0 with three strikeouts and a 1.29 ERA against Chicago this year.
The Cubs will send lefty Cole Hamels (4-2, 3.62 ERA) to the hill. Hamels has 64 strikeouts and 28 walks to his name, along with a 1.28 WHIP. Hamels is 0-1 with four strikeouts and a 0.00 ERA in one start against St. Louis this year.
Chicago’s pitchers have allowed 4.3 runs per game overall this season as a unit. Its starting pitching staff has a 3.72 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 8.5 strikeouts per nine innings. The bullpen has a 4.14 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 9.0 K/9. In 21 divisional games, Cubs starters have an ERA of 3.89 and the bullpen’s ERA is 4.48.
Chicago’s offense is putting up 5.2 runs per outing, including 4.8 per game against divisional foes and 5.0 per game over its last five. The team has slashed .237/.316/.385 over its last five contests and is 3-2 SU during that span.
Shortstop Javier Baez and first baseman Anthony Rizzo have paced the Cubs’ offense this year. Baez is hitting .307/.349/.577 with 15 home runs, 40 RBIs and 41 runs scored, and Rizzo’s line sits at .278/.387/.556 with 16 homers, 44 RBIs and 39 runs.
In the other dugout, St. Louis’ pitchers have allowed 4.5 runs per game and its starting pitchers own a 4.32 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 7.77 K/9. The bullpen has an ERA of 4.12, along with a WHIP of 1.38 and a K/9 of 10.39.
The Cardinals offense has slashed .250/.332/.412 on its way to 4.8 runs scored per game this season, including 4.9 runs per game against divisional foes and 3.0 per game over the team’s last five outings (4-1 SU).
St. Louis’ hitters have been led by first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and shortstop Paul DeJong. Goldschmidt is slashing .271/.358/.445 with 12 home runs, 27 RBIs and 37 runs scored. DeJong (.275/.372/.482) has produced nine homers, 28 RBIs and 42 runs scored.
The Cardinals have lost 2.3 units and are 5-5 ATS when facing a left-handed starting pitcher this year. The over has hit in five of those games, compared to four that’ve gone under against lefties. On the other hand, the Cubs have lost 0.3 units and are 23-26 ATS when facing a right-handed starting pitcher. The over’s hit in 27 of those games, as opposed to 21 which went under the total.
Cardinals vs. Cubs Free MLB Pick
Predictions: SU Winner – Cubs, ATS Winner – Cardinals, O/U – OVER
Betting Trends
- The over has hit in only two of St. Louis’ last seven games.
- The Cardinals have an OPS of .744 this season, including an OPS of .759 against left-handed pitchers. The Cubs’ OPS sits at .797 overall and .756 against southpaws.
- The Cardinals have won five of their last six games SU.
- St. Louis has posted 17.6 Runs + Hits + Errors per game over its last 10 outings and 17.4 over its last five.
- The Cardinals have hit 13 home runs in their last 10 games. The Cubs have hit 17 over their last 10.
