Paul DeJong and the St. Louis Cardinals will be taking on their divisional foe Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in a Saturday night game. The action can be viewed across the country on Fox and the game gets underway 7:15 p.m. ET.
St. Louis Cardinals at Chicago Cubs Odds
The Cubs are 35-27 straight up (SU) and 28-33 against the spread (ATS). They’ve gained 0.6 units for bettors taking the moneyline while earning 6.5 units ATS. Chicago has a 3-4 ATS mark over its last seven games and the under has hit in four of those seven. The Cardinals are 31-30 SU and have gone 32-28 ATS. In total, the club has lost 4.3 units for moneyline bettors, but have gained 4.5 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.
Cubs games have an over/under record of 33-26-2 so far in 2019. The Cardinals have an over/under record of 27-29-4.
Jack Flaherty is getting the nod for the visiting Cardinals. The right-handed Flaherty is 4-3 with a 3.76 ERA and 73 strikeouts. He’s 0-1 with 17 strikeouts and a 4.22 ERA against Chicago this year (two starts).
The Cubs will put the ball in the left hand of Jon Lester (4-4, 3.32 ERA, 1.31 WHIP), who’s got 56 punchouts and 14 walks. Lester hasn’t faced the Cardinals yet this year, but he made four starts against them in 2018, putting together a 2-1 record with a 5.31 ERA.
St. Louis’ pitchers have allowed 4.5 runs per game and its starters own a 4.35 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 7.79 K/9. The bullpen has managed an ERA of 4.04, along with a K-per-9 of 10.36.
The Cardinals offense has slashed .248/.330/.410 on its way to 4.7 runs scored per game in 2019, including 4.8 runs per game against divisional foes and 2.8 per game over the team’s last five contests (3-2 SU).
St. Louis’ offensive production has been fueled by shortstop Paul DeJong and first baseman Paul Goldschmidt. DeJong is slashing .274/.370/.491 with 10 home runs, 29 RBIs and 43 runs scored, while Goldschmidt (.267/.356/.440) has produced 12 homers, 27 RBIs and 37 runs scored.
For the home team, Chicago’s pitching staff has yielded 4.3 runs per game overall in 2019. Its starters have an ERA of 3.63, a WHIP of 1.25 and a strikeouts-per-nine of 8.6. The bullpen has a 4.16 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 9.0 K/9. In 22 games against NL Central foes, Cubs starters have an ERA of 3.65 and the bullpen’s ERA is 4.54.
The Chicago offense has produced 5.2 runs per outing, including 4.7 per game against divisional foes and 5.4 per game over its last five. The team’s hit .258/.324/.445 over its last five games and is 4-1 SU during that span.
Shortstop Javier Baez and first baseman Anthony Rizzo have led the Cubs’ batters this year. Baez is hitting .306/.347/.584 with 16 home runs, 42 RBIs and 42 runs scored, and Rizzo’s line is .280/.392/.555 with 16 homers, 44 RBIs and 40 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, as opposed to four that’ve hit the under in such games. On the other hand, the Cubs have lost 2.2 units and are 23-27 ATS when facing a righty starter. The over has cashed in 27 of those games, compared to 22 that went under the total.
Cardinals vs. Cubs MLB Tip
Predictions: SU Winner – Cubs, ATS Winner – Cubs, O/U – OVER
Betting Notes
- St. Louis has recorded 10 extra-base hits over its last five outings. Chicago has 17 XBH over its last five.
- The Cubs have won four of their last five games SU.
- St. Louis has posted 16.1 Runs + Hits + Errors per game over its last 10 contests and 16.8 over its last five.
- The Cardinals have hit 13 home runs in their last 10 games. The Cubs have hit 15 over their last 10.
- The Cardinals have a team OPS of .739 this season and an OPS of .728 when facing left-handed pitchers. The Cubs’ OPS sits at .798 overall and .751 against lefties.
