The St. Louis Cardinals (17-15) close out a five-game set with the Chicago Cubs (23-18) with a Labor Day matinee at 4:10 p.m. ET at Wrigley Field. Below, we analyze the Cardinals-Cubs MLB betting odds and lines, with picks and best bets.
Cardinals at Cubs: Projected starting pitchers
RHP Johan Oviedo vs. RHP Kyle Hendricks
Oviedo is a big, right-handed, rookie fire-baller making his fourth career start. A Cards’ top-15 prospect, the 22-year-old owns a 4.30 ERA and 0.96 WHIP through 14 2/3 innings
- Has allowed a mere .195 batting average on balls in play, and that’s not the only metric that foreshadows some trouble. Batted-ball data indicates a 50% hard-hit rate which is high.
Hendricks has registered a 3.78 ERA and 1.12 WHIP through 50 innings. The consistent right-hander owns a sub-2.50 ERA over his home starts the last two years (2019-20).
- Averages 95 pitches per start and figures to help a Cubs bullpen in closing out a taxing weekend.
- Current St. Louis batters own an aggregate .631 OPS, .109 isolated power against the 11-year veteran.
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Cardinals at Cubs: Key injuries
(Get the latest injury news here.)
Cardinals
- RP Jordan Hicks (elbow) out
- OF Dexter Fowler (illness) out
Also see: BaseballHQ Fantasy Baseball
Cardinals at Cubs: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips
MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 1 p.m. ET.
Moneyline (ML)
The Redbirds are a strong play despite the surface look of the starting pitching matchup. The usually solid Hendricks has had some hiccups when following a 100-pitch outing and/or back-to-back efforts over 95. The last nine times that scenario has applied, the next-time-out start has resulted in a 6.33 ERA.
On the whole, the Cubs’ record is over-performing production by a few clicks; the opposite holds true for a St. Louis nine. The price on the visitors is right: Back the CARDINALS (+160).
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Run line/Against the spread (ATS)
The run line tag on St. Louis — +1.5 (-143) — is a bit pricey. PASS.
Over/Under (O/U)
Monday’s Wrigley Field weather calls for a seasonal low-70s temp, low humidity, and a double-digit pitcher’s breeze in from center. The lean here is slight and on the UNDER 7.5 (-110).
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