It is an NL Central clash as the St. Louis Cardinals visit the Chicago Cubs. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with a Cardinals-Cubs prediction, pick, and how to watch.
The Cardinals finally won a game yesterday after losing eight straight. It just took Paul Goldschmidt hitting three massive home runs to do it. The Cardinals are not 5-15 in their last twenty games and have struggled to stop teams from scoring. In their last five games, they have given up 6.8 runs per game, and have lost four of them in the process. Meanwhile, the Cubs are in third in the NL Central at 17-17 on the season. They have cooled off from a good start, going 3-7 in their last ten games, but did take two out of three from the Marlins. It was a 14-inning game in which the Cubs scored two in the ninth, to tie it. They tied it again in the 10th, and 13th, but could not in the 14th and took the loss.
Here are the Cardinals-Cubs MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Cardinals-Cubs Odds
St. Louis Cardinals: +1.5 (-182)
Chicago Cubs: -1.5 (+150)
Over: 7 (-110)
Under: 7 (-110)
How To Watch Cardinals vs. Cubs
TV: BSMW/MARQ
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 7:40 PM ET/ 3:40 PM PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Cardinals Could Cover The Spread
The Cardinals, for all of their struggles on the season, including being unsure of where to play players, actually have a top-half of the league offense. They are 12th in runs scored, 10th in batting average, ninth in on-base percentage, and ninth in home runs. They are a solid offense, that is capable of scoring more than enough runs to win a game. The Pitching on the other hand is 21st in the majors in team ERA, last in the league in saves, 24th in quality starts, and 26th in WHIP this year. The Cardinals need either to score a ton of runs of support or get their pitching to step up.
Yesterday they went the tons of runs route. Goldschmidt is now second on the team with 20 RBIs and tied for the team lead in home runs. He is hitting well, and getting on base at a .409 clip. Nolan Gorman is also having a solid year at the plate. He has driven in 23 runs and hit seven home runs as well. Nolan Arenado has added runs in four of his last five games while driving in four runs in the last three as well.
If the offense is not rolling though, they will need some pitching to help out. Mile Mikolas has not been that guy for the Cardinals this year. He is currently 1-1 with a 5.79 ERA. In his last start, he gave up three runs in 5.2 innings and did not factor into the decision. This year, Mikolas has given up three runs or more in all but one start. That one start was a 6.1-inning outing, where he gave up just four hits and no runs to get his only win of the year. It is safe to assume he will give up three, but can the Cardinals score enough to win?
Why The Cubs Could Cover The Spread
Making sure the Cardinals do not get over three runs will be Marcus Stroman. Stroman has been hit-and-miss so far this year. He has three starts where he has given up no runs and gone six innings. He also has one start with just one run in six innings. Stroman is currently 2-2 with a 2.18 ERA, and run support has been his issue. In his two wins, he has had to be the starter for a team shutout. The third shutout game of his season resulted in a no-decision, but the team still won. In his other four starts, when he has given up just a single run or more, the Cubs have lost. Stroman has been great, but he has not been getting run support.
Charged with providing run support will be Nico Hoerner, Patrick Wisdom, and Cody Bellinger. Hoerner has driven in 19 runs this year and scored 25 times. He is helped by his .309 batting average and .354 on-base percentage. He is also a menace on the bath path, stealing 12 bases in the year. Wisdom is leading the team in RBIs with 21 thanks to his 11 home runs on the season. His .904 OPS is second on the team, and his slugging leads the Cubs. Bellinger is the leader in OPS, thanks to his .300/.368/.567 slash line to start the year. He also has been stealing bases, with nine of them, and hit seven home runs on the year. If the three of them can get going, they can provide the run support needed to get the win.
Final Cardinals-Cubs Prediction & Pick
For the Cardinals to win, they are going to have to score more than three runs. Mikolas has not been dominant at all this year, and the Cubs will take advantage of him. They will provide Stroman with at least three runs of run support if not more. Stroman has given up over three just one time this year. It was his only non-quality start of the season. That does not happen again today, and the Cubs get the win.
Final Cardinals-Cubs Prediction & Pick: Cubs -1.5 (+150)
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