At 7:10 PM ET, the Cubs and Cardinals face off in an NL Central matchup. This one is being played at Wrigley Field in Chicago, and the Cubs are favored on the money line (-150). The Cardinals' money line odds are sitting at +128, and the over/under line is at 8.5 runs.
On the mound, we have Miles Mikolas for the Cardinals and Justin Steele for the Cubs. St. Louis is 57-54 this season, while the Cubs are 54-59 and are currently 5th in the NL Central.
St. Louis vs. Chicago Matchup At A Glance
- Teams: Cardinals at Cubs
- Where: Wrigley Field Chicago
- Date: Sunday, August 4th
- Betting Odds CHC -150 | STL +128 O/U 8.5
Cardinals vs Cubs Last Game Recap
It was a low-scoring game in the most recent game of this Cardinals vs Cubs series. St. Louis went into the matchup as slight underdogs at -107 and squeaked out a 5-4 win. The Cardinals had a big 8th inning, scoring three runs to take the lead, and they held on for the win as the Cubs could only muster one run in the 9th.
Chicago wasted a good outing from Jameson Taillon, as he gave up just one run in six innings of work for the Cubs. Hector Neris took the loss. Kyle Gibson got the win for the Cardinals, giving up four earned runs in seven innings of work.
Alec Burleson was the difference for the Cardinals, as he homered, scored twice, and drove in two runs. Nolan Arenado also had a two-hit game and scored two runs for St. Louis' offense.
Cardinals Preview
St. Louis is 2nd in the NL Central, 5.5 games behind the Brewers, with a 57-54 record. They have lost six of their last ten games and are down 2-1 in their current series against the Cubs. The Cardinals are 29-27 as favorites and 28-27 as underdogs this season.
Cardinals games have averaged 8.7 runs per game this season, with a 55-53 Over/Under record. Their games with an 8.5 run total have gone over 27 times out of 41. The Over has hit in six straight games heading into today's matchup.
Miles Mikolas is looking to build off his last outing, where he finished with a no-decision. Against the Nationals on July 28th, he went six innings, giving up three earned runs on seven hits. Looking back further, Mikolas has been up and down, as he has a record of 8-8 and an ERA of 5.00. Out of his 22 starts, Mikolas has turned in 13 quality starts and has a BB/9 figure of just 1.45. For the season, he has allowed 18 homers. The right-hander's ERA at home is 7.15 compared to 4.18 on the road.
Over the last 10 games, Paul Goldschmidt and Masyn Winn have been swinging the bats well for the Cardinals. Goldschmidt has gone 12/38 and has three homers and five RBIs in that stretch, while Winn is also batting .267 with three homers and six RBIs. Winn has also scored four runs in that stretch. Heading into the game, both Alec Burleson and Nolan Gorman are tied for the team lead in homers, with 19 apiece.
For the season, the Cardinals are averaging 4.2 runs per game, which is 21st in the league. They have been a better offensive team at home, averaging 4.4 runs per game. As a team, they are batting .246, and their team on-base percentage of .310 is 13th in the league. Overall, the Cardinals are 17th in team OPS and have the 17th ranked scoring offense in the league.
Cubs Preview
Chicago is 5th in the NL Central with a 54-59 record, 9.5 games behind the Reds for 4th place. The Cubs are 16-26 against NL Central teams this season. They have a 29-26 home record and are 25-33 on the road. Against the run line, the Cubs are 34-24 on the road and 41-20 as underdogs.
For the season, the Cubs' games have averaged 8.4 runs per game, with the over hitting in 49 of their 109 games. The over is 14-13 in games with an O/U line of 8.5 runs. Overall, the Cubs are 24-28 as favorites and 30-31 as underdogs. Heading into today's game, the over has cashed in four straight for Chicago.
Left-hander Justin Steele gets the start for the Cubs today as he faces the Cardinals at home. Steele has made 17 starts this season and has a record of 2-5 with a 3.38 ERA. Looking at his overall numbers, Steele has a WHIP of 1.10 and has issued just 2.4 walks per nine innings. In his last outing, Steele took the loss, giving up five earned runs in five innings of work. Before that, he had a streak of three straight starts in which he allowed two earned runs or fewer. Steele's lone complete game came on June 22nd against the Indians.
So far this season, the Cubs offense has been one of the worst in the league, averaging just 4.2 runs per game, which is 23rd in the MLB. They are also near the bottom of the league in home runs and batting average. However, they do come into the game with the 6th most walks in the league and have a good team on-base percentage.
Seiya Suzuki and Isaac Paredes are tied for 2nd on the team with 16 homers, with Suzuki batting .272 and Paredes at just .238. Ian Happ has also struggled with his batting average, hitting just .228, but his 17 homers are the best on the team and 15th in the league. Over his last nine games, Suzuki is hitting .343 with two homers, and Nico Hoerner comes into the game on a seven-game hitting streak.
Cardinals vs. Cubs Prediction: Cardinals ML +128
We see the Cardinals coming away with a 5-4 road win over the Cubs in this one. With the Cardinals being the underdogs at +128, we see this as a great opportunity to take them on the money line.
Looking at the starting pitchers, our projections have Miles Mikolas going six innings and finishing with four strikeouts. As for the Cubs' starter, Justin Steele, we have him going five innings and also finishing with four K's.
