The St. Louis Cardinals (13-24) finish their 3-game road series with the Chicago Cubs (17-19) Wednesday. First pitch from Wrigley Field is at 7:40 ET (MLB Network). Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Cardinals vs. Cubs odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: Cardinals lead 2-0
The Cardinals may be pessimistic on how this season will play out after one of the slowest starts in franchise history but their rivalry with the Chicago Cubs is still as powerful as ever. St. Louis has come out of the gate running against its NL Central rival and can try to complete its first series sweep of the season with a win Wednesday.
The Cubs are still trying to figure themselves out. They have the 5th best batting average in the league (.255) but are only 10th in runs/game due to having a league-worst 273 runners left on base.
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Cardinals at Cubs projected starters
LHP Jordan Montgomery vs. LHP Justin Steele
Montgomery (2-4, 3.29 ERA) makes his 8th start. He has a 1.22 WHIP, 2.0 BB/9 and 8.3 K/9 through 41 IP.
- Last start: No decision, 6 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 1 B, 6 K vs. Detroit Tigers on Friday
- 0.46 ERA in 3 road starts this season
Steele (5-0, 1.45 ERA) makes his 8th start. He has a 0.95 WHIP, 2.3 BB/9 and 7.5 K/9 through 43 1/3 IP.
- Last start: Win, 7 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 4 K vs. Miami Marlins on Friday
- .153 opponent batting average (OBA) when they take the first pitch but .289 OBA when they swing
Cardinals at Cubs odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 11:07 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Cardinals -110 (bet $110 to win $100) | Cubs -110 (bet $110 to win $100)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Cardinals -1.5 (+155) | Cubs +1.5 (-190)
- Over/Under (O/U): 7.5 (O: -105 | U: -115)
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Cardinals at Cubs picks and predictions
Prediction
Cubs 7, Cardinals 5
Moneyline
Montgomery’s road splits are intimidating but the Cardinals, despite their success in games 1 and 2, still sport a 39% win percentage on the road and are just 4-8 after a win. It’s never easy to complete a sweep so I will take the CUBS (-110) to salvage a win Wednesday.
Run line/Against the spread
St. Louis has the 3rd worst cover percentage this season and picking the Cubs +1.5 (-190) is too chalky. It’s best to PASS on the run line and focus on the moneyline.
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Over/Under
The Cubs are not great at bringing their runners in as previously noted, but the Cardinals are nearly just as bad. Chicago has a league-worst 273 runners left on base, while St. Louis is the 2nd worst with 268 stranded. However, both teams are top 10 in batting average and just need a spark and some luck to break their way to get those runners to score.
Trends also point to a high-scoring affair Wednesday. The Cubs are 4-1 to the Over in their past 5 NL Central contests and the Cardinals have gone over in 6 of their last 7 outings overall.
BET OVER 7.5 (-105).
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