The St. Louis Cardinals (34-35) travel to face off against the Chicago Cubs (34-37) on Sunday, June 16th. This game will be played at Wrigley Field in Chicago and televised on None. The Cubs are coming off a win in their previous game, while the Cardinals are looking to get back on track from a loss to the Cubs. First pitch is set for 12:05 CT.
Cardinals vs Cubs
Chicago cruised to a 5-1 win over the Cardinals in the most recent game of this series. The Cubs had a huge 7th inning, scoring three of their five runs. As for the Cardinals, they scored their only run in the 4th. Heading into the game, the Cubs were favored at -181 on the money line.
Shota Imanaga pitched well for the Cubs in this one, going seven innings and giving up just one run. He finished the game with six strikeouts but didn’t issue a single walk. Andre Pallante had a rough outing for the Cardinals, taking the loss after going just 3 1/3 innings and giving up one earned run.
At the plate, Ian Happ and Cody Bellinger each homered for the Cubs. Happ, Mike Tauchman, and Seiya Suzuki each had two hits and scored a run for Chicago’s offense.
St. Louis is looking to get back to .500 today, as they are currently 34-35 overall and trail the Brewers by 6.5 games in the NL Central. So far, they are 8-9 in divisional matchups. The Cardinals are 17-15 at home and have the same record on the road.
The Cardinals have an overall series record of 11-10-1 this year, and they are 17-20 as the underdog on the road. St. Louis has also gone 17-15 when favored. They are 6-4 across their last ten games and are currently tied with the Cubs in their series.
When betting the run line, the Cardinals have been a better play as the underdog, going 22-15 against the run line compared to 13-19 when favored. Their overall run line record is 35-34, and they have been outscored by an average of 0.6 runs per game this season.
The St. Louis Cardinals are on the road against the Chicago Cubs today, and the over/under line for the game is set at 11 runs. The Cardinals have had a combined run average of 8.3 runs per game this season, and their over/under record is 28-38. Their games have had an average over/under line of 8 runs, and they have played 69 games with over/under lines set lower than 11 runs. Their current under streak is at 6 games.
Miles Mikolas Gets The Start For The Cardinals
Miles Mikolas will be looking to build off his last outing, where he faced the Pirates and didn’t give up a run in seven innings of work. In that outing, he gave up just one hit and issued one walk. Against the Cubs today, he will be looking to be more like the pitcher who faced the Pirates and less like the one who gave up two homers to the Astros on June 5th. Mikolas has a record of 4-6 this season and an ERA of 4.85. Looking at his WHIP, it currently sits at 1.19. For the year, he has allowed 12 homers and is averaging 6.81 strikeouts per nine innings.
Cardinals Offense Breakdown
For the Cardinals to improve their 26th ranked scoring offense, they will need more production from Nolan Gorman and Paul Goldschmidt. Gorman is the team’s top power threat, with 15 home runs, but he is batting just .207 for the season and has gone 1/20 in his last five games. Goldschmidt is also coming off a rough five-game stretch, going 3/20. However, he does have 13 homers this season.
Nolan Arenado has been swinging the bat well of late, going 7/18 in his last five games and batting .262 for the season. Alec Burleson has been a nice surprise for the Cardinals, as he is batting .272 and has gone deep nine times this season.
With a record of 34-37, the Cubs are 4th in the NL Central, 7.5 games behind the Brewers for the division lead. So far, they have gone just 9-16 in divisional matchups. The Cubs will host the Cardinals today with the series tied at 1-1.
At home, the Cubs have gone 19-14 this season compared to 15-23 on the road. Chicago has dropped two straight series and their overall series record is 8-12-2 this year. As the favorite, the Cubs are 17-15 and 12-10 when favored at home.
When the Cubs win, they do so by an average of 2.9 runs per game, but when they lose, they lose by an average of 3.1 runs per game. That’s why their overall run line record is 35-36. They have been a better bet on the run line on the road (22-16) than at home (13-20).
Today’s over/under line of 11 runs for the Chicago Cubs’ game against the St. Louis Cardinals is the highest of the season for the Cubs. The Cubs’ games have averaged 8.6 runs per game this season, and their over/under record is 30-38. Their games have had an average over/under line of 8 runs, and they have had just one game this season with an over/under line of 11 runs or more. The Cubs have gone under the over/under line in eight straight games.
Jameson Taillon Gets The Start For The Cubs
Chicago is sending Jameson Taillon to the mound today vs. the Cardinals. He has made 10 starts this year and has a record of 3-2 with an ERA of 3.09. So far, Taillon has made four quality starts and is averaging 6.51 strikeouts per nine innings. The right-hander’s WHIP for the season is 1.30. In his last outing, Taillon didn’t give up a run in six innings of work vs. the Rays. He finished with a no-decision in that outing. Before that, he had given up at least one homer in three straight starts.
Cubs Offense Breakdown
Christopher Morel comes into the game as the Cubs leader in home runs this season, but he has struggled at the plate, hitting just .198 for the season. Over his last five games, he has gone just 3/20 with one home run. Cody Bellinger has also gone deep in this stretch, but he is batting .350 in his last five games and has a season-long batting average of .268.
As a team, the Cubs are batting just .227, which is 17th in the league. They are also just 20th in the league in scoring, averaging 4.2 runs per game. One positive is that they are 5th in the league in walks and have the 13th best on-base percentage in the league.
Cardinals vs Cubs Prediction
Our predicted final score for this Cubs vs. Cardinals matchup is 5-4 in favor of the Cubs. With the Cubs’ money line sitting at -132, we see this as a great value pick, as they are projected to win and would give you a nice payout.
Looking at the starting pitchers, our projections have Jameson Taillon finishing with four strikeouts compared to Mikolas with just four. Taillon is also projected to give up fewer hits and earn runs than Mikolas, giving him the edge if you are looking at a starting pitcher prop bet.
All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!
* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.
Last updated:June 16, 2024 Cardinals, Cubs