One of the most heated rivalries in all of sports will be front and center of the baseball world as the St. Louis Cardinals take on the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in game two of a doubleheader on Saturday evening. You know what time it is! Check out our MLB odds series, where our Cardinals-Cubs prediction and pick will be selected.

 

The second-place Cardinals, who sit at 30-22, will put their faith in right-handed pitcher Andre Pallante to secure a victory against the Cubs. Pallante will be making his first start of the season and has a 1-0 record with a 1.07 ERA thus far.

The slumping Cubs are in desperate need of a win, as they sit eight games under .500 at 22-30 and will send out RHP Caleb Kilian in hopes that he can lead them to victory. Kilian will be making his major league debut after a 2-0 record and a 2.06 ERA in nine starts at the Triple-A level.

Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Cardinals-Cubs MLB odds.

MLB Odds: Cardinals-Cubs Odds

St. Louis Cardinals: -1.5 (+162)

Chicago Cubs : +1.5 (-196)

Over: 8.5 (-105)

Under: 8.5 (-115)

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Why The Cardinals Could Cover the Spread

Winners in six of their last eight contests, the Cardinals are playing as fundamentally sound of baseball as they have played all year long. It is safe to say that St. Louis is officially rolling at this point, and no player in the MLB is as hot as 1B Paul Goldschmidt.

Possibly experiencing the hottest streak of his life, Goldschmidt is on a tear that no one has been able to live up to during the 2022 season. After winning the National League Player of the Month award for the month of May, the powerful three-hole hitter has now hit safely in 25 consecutive games after he spanked a three-run homer into the seats in the 14-5 victory over Chicago on Friday. While there is rarely one player in the sport of baseball that can have as big of an impact in the win/loss department, Goldschmidt begs to differ with one of the best starts in his career through the first couple of months of the 2022 season.

As a whole, the Cardinals' offense has generated the fourth-most runs in all of baseball with 256 runs crossing the plate.

Another reason that the Cardinals may cover the spread versus the Cubbies on Saturday is because of their above-average pitching that is not to be messed with. While they may not be one of the elite teams in the majors to spin the ball, this is still a group that has pitched to the tune of a 3.80 ERA and has the twelfth most quality starts out of any team in the league.

Why The Cubs Could Cover the Spread

The expectation before the season began was that the Cubs were in full rebuild mode, so the fact that Chicago is 22-30 52 games through the season has not been that much of a surprise to most. With a very poor 10-18 record at home, the least the Cubs could do is start winning some ballgames in front of a home crowd that still serves as one of the best fan bases in all of professional sports. While having home field against their arch-rivals in the Cardinals may not prove to be that much of an advantage on Saturday, the confines of Wrigley Field can still be tough for any opponent to play in.

The best part of the Cubbies' game comes in the form of the bats, as they have swatted their way to the twelfth most runs in the majors at 232 and also have a knack for getting on base to put the pressure on opposing pitching. Chicago has compiled a .320 on-base percentage on the season, which is the eighth-best mark in the league.

While the pitching has been underwhelming, to say the least, all eyes will be on Kilian who is generating a decent amount of buzz in making his big leagues debut. Kilian showcased an impressive arsenal under his belt during his time in the minor leagues, as he is hands down one of Chicago's most up-and-coming pitching prospects that they have in their system. While Kilian has not gone up against Major League hitters in his life, the emotion of him pitching for the first time in the world's highest level of play could be enough to carry the Cubs to a spread covering victory.

Final Cardinals-Cubs Prediction & Pick

Kilian is surely in for the toughest test of his life against a scary Cardinals lineup, but who doesn't love a feel-good story? The Cubbies are good enough offensively to hang in there and whether they win 0r not, the big stage will not prove to be too big for the super talented Kilian.

Final Cardinals-Cubs Prediction & Pick: Cubs +1.5 (-196)