One of the biggest rivalries in baseball has returned for a weekend series at Busch Stadium between the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals. Check out our MLB odds series, where our Cubs-Cardinals prediction and pick will be made.

 

Despite dropping four out of their last five, the Cubs will look to keep the ‘Cards off the scoreboard on Friday by calling upon right-handed finesse pitcher Kyle Hendricks, who has limped his way to a 2-6 record with a 5.43 ERA in 13 starts.

Unlike Chicago, St. Louis has had a successful start to their season and is currently tied for first place in the NL Central with a 40-32 record. With a lethal dosage of hot bats and dominant pitching, the Cardinals will look to take advantage of the Cubs' shortcomings. On track for only his fourth start of the 2022 season, righty Andre Pallante will carry a 2-2 record and 1.69 ERA into tonight's heated matchup.

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

MLB Odds: Cubs-Cardinals Odds

Chicago Cubs : +1.5 (-140)

St. Louis Cardinals: -1.5 (+116)

Over: 9 (-106)

Under: 9 (-114)

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Why The Cubs Could Cover the Spread

The Cubs are in the middle of a rebuild and not many except maybe Cubbie fanatics expected much from Chicago in 2022. There hasn't been a whole lot of raising the W flag within the confines of the north side of Chicago, as many Chicagoans are already looking forward to football season at Soldier Field (which isn't saying much).

All jokes aside, whenever the Cubs and Cardinals get together on the baseball diamond, records are thrown to the side and emotions certainly take over. This is the best-case scenario for the Cubbies as we sit a week away from July, as Chicago's season is quickly becoming a lost cause.

With a combined 4.91 ERA among the pitching staff and bullpen, the despair on the mound has been the main contributor to why the Cubs have been one of the worst teams in baseball and have lost 14 of its last 17 games. If Chicago can get even a fraction of the Kyle Hendricks of old who was a valuable piece for the Cubs on their way to winning the 2016 World Series, then the Cubs definitely have a chance to keep it close.

In his last start, Hendricks appeared to be throwing batting practice to the Braves as they clubbed a pair of round-trippers off of him on eight hits in only his 4 1/3 innings pitched.

Can the bats take advantage of a youngster in Pallante starting for the Cards? While the Cubs don't have eye-popping statistical numbers at the plate, they are able to put up runs if need be. Chicago is 16th in batting average at .244 and has the 13th most hits in the league with 580 total.

Why The Cardinals Could Cover the Spread

Most of North America is aware that the Cardinals are the better bunch on paper but as unpredictable as sports may be, St. Louis should be getting a motivated crew that is desperate to blare the 1994 anthem Go, Cubs, Go by Steve Goodman.

To avoid a massive letdown versus their pesky rivals, St. Louis must stick to the little details and not get too carried away with the big picture of things. A lot can happen over the course of a nine-inning ballgame, and the Cardinals will have to remain focused on each pitch to dampen the slim hopes that the Cubbies may possess.

With the 32-year-old Hendricks having allowed four or more runs in five of the last nine starts, this is a dream game to rip the cover off of the baseball if you are a Cardinals hitter. News flash, but first-baseman Paul Goldschmidt likes to hit home runs. The otherworldly slugger is slashing a .340 average while also leading the team with 17 home runs and 61 RBIs. The odds are high that Goldschmidt hits a game-changing home run off of Hendricks that would put the Cardinals up for good.

If the St. Louis offense can just do their job, then the pressure that the arms on this roster will feel will be nonexistent. Of course, this is easier said than done, but don't be surprised if the Cardinals are capable of pitching a gem on Friday.

Since moving from the bullpen from the starting rotation at the beginning of the month, Pallante has allowed only three runs on twelve hits in a combined three starts. The most dangerous part of Pallante's game is a four-seam fastball that can reach speeds of up to 97 MPH and even has some movement on it when crossing the plate.

Final Cubs-Cardinals Prediction & Pick

As much as baseball fans want to see a close, hard-fought game by both sides, the chances of the Cubs covering the spread in this matchup is slim to none. The confidence in Hendricks to keep the Cardinals at bay seems like an impossible task even in a rivalry game. St. Louis defends home field to kick off this weekend series by winning by more than -1.5 runs.

Final Cubs-Cardinals Prediction Pick: Cardinals -1.5 (+116)