Cardinals vs. Cubs Prediction
Will the Cardinals and Cubs once again struggle offensively when the two teams meet at 2:20PM ET on Saturday?
According to oddsmakers from online sports book Bovada.lv, the Cubs are -175 money line favorites versus the Cardinals, who have odds of +140 to pull off the upset at Wrigley Field today. With Mike Leake set to face Jon Lester in the pitching matchup, the over/under currently sits at 8.5 runs.
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Latest from Rotoworld: Leake gave up four runs over seven innings in Monday’s loss to the Dodgers. Leake’s run of nine straight quality starts to begin the season comes to an end. He allowed three runs over his first six frames in this one, but he was sent back out for the seventh with his pitch count low and gave up a sac fly. The sinkerballer gave up just six hits and a walk while striking out six but served up a couple longballs.
Lester struggled in Sunday’s 9-4 loss to the Dodgers, yielding six runs on seven hits over 3 1/3 innings. A pair of three-run home runs proved to be the culprit in this disappointing outing, as Cody Bellinger took Lester deep for a three-run shot in the second inning and Kike Hernandez did likewise in the third. He had been pitching to a brilliant 0.86 ERA in his previous three outings before the Dodgers mucked that up on Sunday. The veteran southpaw will try for cleaner results when he carries his 3.86 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 67/23 K/BB ratio (11 starts) into a road showdown with the rival Cardinals next time out.
Bet Today’s Cardinals vs. Cubs Game
OUR PREDICTION: The under is a perfect 5-0 in Lester’s last five home starts against the Cardinals and is 6-1-2 in his last nine outings versus St. Louis overall. The under has also cashed in four of Leake’s last five starts against the Cubs and is 9-3-1 in the last 13 meetings between these two teams overall. Neither of these teams is hitting right now and this is a decent pitching matchup.
SATURDAY MLB PREDICTION: CARDINALS/CUBS UNDER 8.5