The St. Louis Cardinals (54-48) will host the Chicago Cubs (41-60) on Wednesday in the second game of a three-game series. These two teams have split their first eight head-to-head contests this season. This prediction was written before the conclusion of Tuesday's series contests.
The Chicago Cubs went in Tuesday, third in the NL Central and 13.5 games out of a wild card position. Chicago has won seven of its last 10 games but dropped their second in a row on Sunday, falling 4-0 to the San Francisco Giants. According to covers.com, the Cubs are 17th at -$24 when it comes to moneyline profit on the road amongst MLB teams.
Chicago is 19th in MLB scoring 4.2 runs per game, 18th with 100 home runs, and fifth with 66 stolen bases. Patrick Wisdom leads the club with 19 home runs and 50 RBI. Wilson Contreras has 14 home runs and a team-best .365 on-base percentage from the catcher position, and Ian Happ leads the team with 100 hits and is second with 46 RBI. At the time of this preview, Wisdom, Contreras, and Happ were still all Cubs.
Listening to Ian Happ, one thing is clear: He loves Chicago, he loves Wrigley Field, he l oves the fans, and he loves playing for the Chicago Cubs.
I really feel for him. He's a good dude. Called today a “lonely place” before the trade deadline.
— Michael Cerami (@Michael_Cerami) August 2, 2022
On Wednesday, Chicago is listed to start Justin Steele (4-7, 3.86 ERA). In eight road starts, Steele is 1-3 with a 4.71 ERA. Steele was sharp against the Cardinals in a 5-3 11-inning loss on Sunday June 5. In that appearance Steele only allowed one earned run in seven innings. The Chicago bullpen is 20th with a 4.08 ERA this season. I don't expect those numbers to improve down the stretch, as they traded their closer David Robertson (2.23 ERA, 14 saves) to the Phillies at the trade deadline.