St. Louis Cardinals at Chicago Cubs Betting Preview
Sunday Night Baseball features one of the best rivalries in MLB as the St. Louis Cardinals (32-32) take on the Chicago Cubs (37-27). The Cubs will host this one at Wrigley Field, with the first pitch scheduled for 7:08 pm ET.
After taking the first two games of the series, the Cubs will be looking for the sweep in the finale. On Saturday, the Cubs were able to take down St. Louis 7-2.
Kyle Hendricks picked up the win Saturday for the Cubs after giving up just two runs in six innings. Chicago also blasted three home runs, including Joc Pederson’s ninth of the season.
Unfortunately for Cardinals’ fans, starter John Gant could not get through the second inning and gave up five runs. Crazily, he only allowed one hit but walked five. Nolan Arenado and Paul DeJong homered in the loss.
The Cubs come into Sunday’s contest as the favorites playing at home. They are -146 to win while the Cardinals’ moneyline sits at +124.
Pitching Matchup
St. Louis will send veteran Carlos Martinez (3-6, 6.21 ERA) to the mound Sunday. It has been a rough June thus far for Martinez. In 4.2 innings across two starts, he has given up 13 hits, 15 runs, and has walked five.
The Cubs will counter with righty Zach Davies (3-3, 4.45 ERA). Davies was strong in his last start. In the victory over the Padres, he went six scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and striking out four.
By The Numbers
Offensively, the Cubs have been the stronger team thus far. They rank 12th overall averaging 4.62 runs per game. The Cardinals rank 17th, averaging 4.25 runs.
It is once again the Cubs with the advantage defensively. They rank 10th in the majors in runs allowed per game at 4.05. The Cardinals rank 19th allowing opponents 4.63 runs per game.
Cardinals Trying To End Skid
It has been quite a rough start to June for the St. Louis Cardinals. They are 2-8 in their last ten games and have fallen into a tie for third in the division with the Reds, five games behind the Brewers and Cubs.
They will try to slow down the skid by taking the finale Sunday.
Leading the way offensively for St. Louis has been outfielder Tyler O’Neill and third baseman Nolan Arenado. To date, O’Neill leads the team in home runs with 15 while Arenado has 12 home runs and leads the team in runs batted in with 44.
One player to keep an eye on in this one is Matt Carpenter. The infielder has had a lot of success against Zach Davies in his career. In 25 at-bats, Carpenter is hitting .480 with three home runs and four runs batted in.
Cubs Try To Stay Hot At Home
Thus far, the Cubs have looked like two different teams depending on whether they are home or away from Wrigley Field. On the road, they are a disappointing 14-17, but at Wrigley, they are a stellar 23-10. On Sunday, they will try to stay hot at the “Friendly Confines.”
In a contract year, Kris Bryant is playing at an MVP level. In 218 at-bats, he is hitting .298/.379/.560 with 13 home runs, 39 runs batted in, and 40 runs scored.
He is also one of five Cubs’ players who have homered off of Carlos Martinez in their careers. Ian Happ and Anthony Rizzo have taken the righty deep twice apiece.
Taking Chicago To Win
While Zach Davies is not going to utterly dominate anyone with his stuff, he has been significantly more consistent than Carlos Martinez this year.
Between the pitching matchup favoring Chicago, the Cubs’ hot bats, and the home-field advantage, it is hard not to take Chicago in this one.
While anything goes when the Cardinals and Cubs matchup, the smart bet is Chicago -146.
