The Chicago Cubs (36-38) and the St. Louis Cardinals (31-44) start a 2-game series Saturday in London with the Cardinals serving as the home team. First pitch from London Stadium is set for 1:10 ET (FOX). Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Cubs vs. Cardinals odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: St. Louis leads 2-1
The NL Central has been a buzz this season. After the Pittsburgh Pirates’ early success, the Cincinnati Reds caught fire and jumped into 1st place — behind a 12-game win streak entering Saturday. The Cubs have been hot as well, winning 10 of their last 12 to get withing 2 games of .500.
The Cardinals have received attention this season but for the wrong reasons. They are last in the division one year after winning it. But Cards-Cubs is still a stellar rivalry that MLB is bringing to England.
St. Louis is coming off a 3-0 loss as a -152 road favorite to the lowly Washington Nationals Wednesday — the shutout snapped a Cardinals’ 4-game win streak, though they’re 4-7 in their last 11 games.
The Cubs are coming off a 3-game sweep of the Pirates, capped by an 8-3 victory as slight -112 road favorites Wednesday.
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Cubs vs. Cardinals projected starters
LHP Justin Steele vs. RHP Adam Wainwright
Steele (7-2, 2.71 ERA) makes his 14th start of the season. He has a 1.07 WHIP, 2.1 BB/9 and 7.6 K/9 in 73 innings.
- Last start: Win, 5 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 4 K in 3-2 home victory vs. Baltimore Orioles last Saturday
- Only allowed 3 homers this season
- Career vs. Cardinals: 1-1, 5.00 ERA (18 IP, 10 ER), 1.61 WHIP, 4.5 K/9 in 3 starts, including 10-4 home victory in his only start vs. Cards this season (6 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 3 BB, 3 K)
Wainwright (3-1, 5.56 ERA) makes his 9th start. He has a 1.67 WHIP, 2.7 BB/9 and 4.9 K/9 in 43 2/3 innings.
- Last start: Win, 6 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 3 K in 5-3 road win vs. the New York Mets last Saturday
- Whether pitching at home or on road, Wainwright allows .323 batting average
- Career vs. Cubs (regular season): 19-14, 3.84 ERA (302 1/3 IP, 129 ER), 1.29 WHIP, 7.5 K/9 in 57 games (48 starts)
- 2022 vs. Cubs: 2-1, 2.88 ERA (25 IP, 8 ER), 1.48 WHIP, 3.2 K/9 in 4 starts
Cubs vs. Cardinals odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 3:07 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Cubs -135 (bet $135 to win $100) | Cardinals +110 (bet $100 to win $110)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Cubs -1.5 (+105) | Cardinals +1.5 (-125)
- Over/Under (O/U): 14 (O: -105 | U: -115)
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Cubs vs. Cardinals picks and predictions
Prediction
Cubs 6, Cardinals 5
Moneyline
BET CUBS (-135).
The Cubs’ bats showed up in their recent 3-game sweep at the Pirates, totaling 20 runs. Plus, the pitching staff tossed 2 shutouts.
Chicago is cookin’ on both sides of the ball. Expect it to continue Saturday across the pond vs. struggling St. Louis.
Run line/Against the spread
Just because the Cubs are the better team on paper doesn’t mean the Cardinals won’t keep it close. St. Louis is one of the better teams as an underdog, posting a 19-10 ATS record.
Since I’m backing the Cubs moneyline, I will PASS on the spread.
But if interested in a 9-to-1 payoff, consider grabbing CUBS TO WIN BY 1 RUN (+900) for a small wager.
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Over/Under
Both teams on the road tend to cash Under tickets.
The Under is 20-17 for the Cubs when they’re away from the friendly confines, while the Under is 24-16-1 for the Cardinals away from Busch Stadium.
On top of that, the Under is 6-1 for the Cubs in their last 7 games against sub-.500 teams.
There have been just 2 MLB games in London in the past when the New York Yankees swept the Boston Red Sox in 2019. Both contests were high-scoring as New York claimed 17-13 and 12-8 victories.
Some sportsbooks have slightly juiced the Under for Saturday’s Cubs-Cardinals matchup — FanDuel Sportsbook has an Under of 13.5 posted with -115 juice.
BET UNDER 14 (-115) at BetMGM Sportsbook.
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