Thursday, July 20's MLB schedule features the start of a four-game series at Wrigley Field between the St. Louis Cardinals (43-53) and Chicago Cubs (45-50).
- Cardinals vs Cubs Game Info
- Cardinals vs Cubs Odds & Spread
- Cardinals vs Cubs Betting Trends
- Cardinals vs Cubs Prediction & Pick
- Cardinals vs Cubs Best Bet
Cardinals vs Cubs Game Info
- Date:'Thursday, July 20, 2023
- Time:'8:05 p.m. ET
- Venue:'Wrigley Field — Chicago, Illinois
- Coverage:'MLB.TV
The Cardinals head to the Windy City riding a five-game winning streak after sweeping the Miami Marlins to begin the new week. The Cubs have some momentum on their side, too, after back-to-back games over the Washington Nationals by a combined score of 25-6.
Cardinals vs Cubs Odds & Spread
- Moneyline:'STL: (+100) | CHC: (-118)
- Spread:'STL: -1.5 (+164) | CHC: +1.5 (-200)
- Total:'8.5 — Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)
The Cubs enter as the moneyline favorites while the Cardinals are favored on the spread, per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 8:05 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 8.5 runs with both sides being available at -110 odds.
Cardinals vs Cubs Betting Trends
- St. Louis is 5-0 straight up (SU) in its last five games.
- The Cubs are 5-13 SU in their last 18 home games against St. Louis.
- The total has hit the Over in 10 of St. Louis' last 15 games played on a Thursday.
- The total has hit the Over in each of the Cubs' last f ive home games.
Cardinals vs Cubs Prediction & Pick
The Cardinals have been hot, but it might take a big effort to win tonight. St. Louis starting pitcher Steven Matz has had next to no luck this season, going 0-7 with a 4.86 ERA through 20 games (12 starts). It's also worth noting that the Cards gave up an average of 8.3 runs in Matz's latest six starts, winning just two of those games.
At the same time, Chicago's Marcus Stroman has been great at home in 2023. The two-time all-star hurler is 6-4 with a 2.69 ERA and 0.864 WHIP in 10 starts at Wrigley Field. Having said that, he's already lost to St. Lou is twice this year, allowing five earned runs on 12 hits over 9 1/3 innings.
Even though the Cardinals have gotten the better of Stroman, I'm still taking the Cubs to win. Matz starting doesn't exactly provide confidence, especially when Chicago is 17-12 SU against left-hand pitchers. Throw in the fact that the Cubs bats have hit everything lately and I like their odds to win even more.
Final Score Prediction:'Cubs: 6 | Cardinals: 5
Cardinals vs Cubs Best Bet
It makes perfect sense to back the Over on the 8.5-run total. For starters, Stroman's last four starts have seen an average total of 10.8 runs scored while Matz's last six saw an average of 13.
On top of that, the Over is 5-1 in St. Louis' previous six outings and 8-0 in Chicago's most recent eight. Considering how each of the last four Cardinals-Cubs matchups also went over 8.5 runs, it's fair to expect plenty of offense tonight.