The Chicago Cubs (50-51) and St. Louis Cardinals (46-57) tangle in the Thursday opener of a 4-game series in St. Louis. First pitch at Busch Stadium is slated for 7:45 p.m. ET (MLB Network). Let’s analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s lines around the Cubs vs. Cardinals odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: Cubs lead 5-4
Chicago is coming off a 2-game sweep of its South Side neighbors, the Chicago White Sox. The Cubs have won 5 in a row and 7 of their last 8. Over that stretch, they have cranked out a .920 OPS. The Cubs are 6 games out of the lead in the NL Central and 4 1/2 games back in the Wild-Card race.
The Cardinals are back at home after a 3-4 road trip. That trip opened with St. Louis dropping 3 of 4 to the Cubs July 20-23.
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Cubs at Cardinals projected starters
LHP Justin Steele vs. RHP Miles Mikolas
Steele (10-3, 2.95 ERA) is tabbed for his 19th start. He has logged a 1.11 WHIP, 1.8 BB/9 and 8.3 K/9 in 103 2/3 innings.
- Last start: W, 6 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 9 K in 4-3 win vs. Cardinals Friday
- 2023 road stats: 3-1, 2.93 ERA in 7 starts (.650 OPS allowed)
- Last 5 vs. Cardinals: 3-1, 3.86 ERA (2021-23)
- Has yielded more than 2 runs in just 2 of his last 7 starts
Mikolas (6-5, 4.33 ERA) is making his 23rd start of the season. He has a 1.31 WHIP, 1.8 BB/9 and 6.1 K/9 in 126 2/3 innings.
- Last start: No-decision, 5 IP, 5 ER, 11 H, 1 BB, 3 K in 8-6 loss at Cubs Saturday
- 2023 home stats: 2-2, 4.95 ERA in 56 1/3 IP
- Last 5 vs. Cubs: 1-1, 3.56 ERA (2022-23)
- Owns a 4.89 ERA since June 16
Cubs at Cardinals odds
Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 8:51 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline: Cubs +102 (bet $100 to win $102) | Cardinals -118 (bet $118 to win $100)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Cubs +1.5 (-210) | Cardinals -1.5 (+172)
- Over/Under (O/U): 9 (O: -105 | U: -115)
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Cubs at Cardinals picks and predictions
Prediction
Cubs 5, Cardinals 4
Moneyline
Steele has been a favorite of -127 or better in each of his last 5 starts. He owns a 3.52 ERA over his last 5 starts and that’s with a .341 batting average on balls in play. Over the last 2 seasons, has been quite sharp in the back half of consecutive games against the same foe.
The Cubs’ won-loss record does not compute. At 4.91 runs per game and 4.44 RPG allowed, they figure as due for a good 2d half (and are off to one).
The Cubs are 5-1 in their last 6 road-series openers. BACK CHICAGO (+102).
Run line/Against the spread
In winning 7 of their last 8, the Cubs have won by multiple runs 6 times. But PASS on the current tag.
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Over/Under
Criss-crossing signals here, and there’s no value in playing a small edge either way. PASS.
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