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St. Louis Cardinals at Chicago Cubs Betting Preview

One of the best rivalries in all of baseball will battle Sunday night as the St. Louis Cardinals (30-23) take on the Chicago Cubs (23-30). This NL Central showdown will take place at Wrigley Field, with the first pitch scheduled for 7:08 pm ET.

Sunday will be the rubber match of this series. On Saturday, the two split a doubleheader, with the Cubs taking the first game 6-1 and the Cardinals taking Game 2 7-4.

After dropping the first game, the Cardinals battled back to win the nightcap scoring seven runs on 11 hits. Going into extras tied 3-3, the Cardinals erupted for four runs to split the day.

22-year-old Christopher Morel had a big day for Chicago Saturday. In total, he went five for nine with two runs and two runs batted in out of the leadoff spot. Frank Schwindel also hit his eighth home run of the season Saturday.

The Cardinals are the favorite Sunday night despite playing on the road. They are -135 to win while the Cubs’ moneyline sits at +113. The runline features Chicago +1.5 (-135), and the over/under for total runs is 8.5.

Cardinals Trying To Keep Pace In NL Central

At 31-23, the Cardinals currently sit just 1.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for first in the NL Central. Luckily, they have played well both at home (16-11) and on the road (15-12), and they come into this one having won seven of their last 10.

On the mound on Sunday will be veteran righty Adam Wainwright. In 10 games this season, Wainwright is 5-4 with a 2.75 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and he has struck out 48 in 59 innings.

He took a no-decision in his last start against the Padres. In seven innings, he gave up no earned runs on just two hits while striking out 10. Offensively, first baseman Paul Goldschmidt has been on fire this season.

In 199 at bats, he is hitting .342/.424/.613 with 12 home runs, 47 runs batted in, and 38 runs scored. He leads the Cardinals in all three of those categories.

Albeit in just three at bats, he has also hit well against the Cubs’ Justin Steele, going one for three with a home run and two runs batted in.

Cubs Struggling To Play Well At Home

The Cubs are currently 9.5 games back in the NL Central, but their biggest issue has been playing at Wrigley Field this season. While they are 12-12 on the road, they are just 11-19 at home. They will look to improve that on Sunday against their longtime rivals.

On the mound on Sunday for the Cubs will be 26-year-old lefty Justin Steele. In 10 games, he has struggled a bit this year, going 1-5 with a 5.40 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, and has struck out 46 in 40 innings.

In his last start, he went five innings against the Brewers, allowing three runs on three hits. In that start, he struck out six, but he also walked four.

Keep an eye on Ian Happ Sunday night. In 20 career at bats against Adam Wainwright, he is hitting .400 with four home runs and six runs batted in.

Jason Heyward has also hit the righty well, hitting .357 in 42 at bats with a home run and seven runs batted in. Willson Contreras has two home runs and four runs batted in against Wainwright, but he is hitting just .174 in 23 at bats against him.

Take The Cardinals To Secure Series Win

Not only do they have the better pitcher on the mound Sunday, but the trends lean in the Cardinals’ favor for this one.

St. Louis is 5-2 in their last seven games, and, more importantly, they are 9-4 in their last 13 against the Cubs. Even more impressive, they are 7-2 in their last nine games at Wrigley Field.

While records can oftentimes be thrown out the window when these two match up, the smart play in this one is to take the Cardinals at -135 to win straight up.

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