The St. Louis Cardinals (14-14) and Chicago Cubs (22-15) renew their rivalry in a Friday night game (8:15 p.m. ET) that jump-starts a five-game, holiday-weekend, wraparound series 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 Jack Flaherty vs. RHP Yu Darvish
Flaherty owns a 1.93 ERA through four starts (19 IP).
- Logged a 2.48 ERA in 36 IP against Chicago in 2019. Cubs batters own an aggregate and whiff-heavy .680 OPS against Flaherty.
- The Redbird righty, still just 24, owns a 3.13 ERA through 71 career games. He’s 1-0 with a 1.54 ERA and a .125 opponents’ batting average in three starts since the team restarted from a two-week COVID-19 shutdown.
Darvish has posted a 1.47 ERA and 1.00 WHIP through seven starts. The ace righty hasn’t yielded more than a solo earned run in a game since July 25.
- Has thrown 100-plus pitches in three of last four starts.
- Has registered an elite 16.5% swing-and-miss rate, which would rank as the best of his career by a 2.5% margin.
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Cardinals at Cubs: Key injuries
(Get the latest injury news here.)
Cardinals
- RP Andrew Miller (shoulder) out
- OF Dexter Fowler (illness) out
- RP Genesis Cabrera (finger) questionable
- C Matt Wieters (toe) questionable
Cubs
- OF Ian Happ (eye) doubtful
- C Matt Wieters (toe) questionable
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 12:15 p.m. ET.
Moneyline (ML)
Figure on both the Cubs (.595 winning percentage) Cardinals (.500) being more like .525 clubs. The Darvish pitch counts are a mild concern. ST. LOUIS +130 has some marginal value.
New to sports betting? A winning $10 bet on the Cardinals returns a profit of $13.
Run line/Against the spread (ATS)
A juice-filled line – CUBS -1.5 (+145)/CARDINALS +1.5 (-176) – here doesn’t offer an enticing price on the St. Louis lean.
Over/Under (O/U)
The early indication on the weather for this one is for a breeze out to right. Darvish is a fly-ball type for Chicago. Both bullpens trend toward lofty batted balls also. And both starters (and the Cards pen) appear to be due for some regression. Add in a St. Louis offense with room (and reason) for growth and a Cubs nine that bashes right-handers. TAKE THE OVER 8 (-110).
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