Bitter rivals will begin an extended five-game series on Monday night with the St. Louis Cardinals visiting the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. St Louis leads the division by five games at 69-51 after rolling to a three-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers capped off by a 6-4 win on Sunday as a -117 favorite. Chicago took two of three from the Milwaukee Brewers, missing out on a sweep with a 5-2 loss on Sunday as a +131 underdog.
The Cardinals currently lead the 2022 season series 7-4. Chicago hasn't won a season series over St. Louis since 2017.
The Cardinals have not only taken control of the NL Central but are starting to look like a threat to go far in the playoffs, and swept aside the Diamondbacks over the weekend. Lars Nootbaar got the offense off to a great start in Sunday's finale with a leadoff homer before Nolan Arenado added an RBI single later in the inning, and Arenado later added an RBI single in the seventh that put St. Louis up for good.
Starter Jose Quintana struggled through 2.2 innings, allowing four runs (two earned) on seven hits and three walks, failing to record a strikeout. Jake Woodford picked up the win in relief with 1.1 scoreless frames, while Giovanny Gallegos recorded his 12th save. Brendan Donovan was on base three times including a double and scored a run.
“He knows when to take the shots and when to just take whatever is given to him,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol s aid about Arenado via the Associated Press. “That’s a perfect example of taking what he’s given.”
The Cardinals are up a big amount on the money line for the season while going a stellar 68-52 on the run line. Overs are 57-59-4 for the Cardinals, with three of their last four games going over the betting total.
This is the fourth-highest scoring offense in baseball at 4.87 runs per game on a .753 OPS that is also within the top five. St. Louis pitching is closer to the middle of the pack with a 3.84 ERA including a mark of 3.76 from the bullpen.
Paul Goldschmidt is the current NL MVP favorite with a .341/.422/.640 line, 31 homers and 100 RBI. Arenado isn't far behind, accumulating 6.2 WAR on a .298/.361/.558 line with 25 homers and 78 driven in.
Trade acquisition Jordan Montgomery will make his 25th start overall and fourth in a Cardinals uniform, hoping to con tinue a solid season as he's 6-3 with a 3.29 ERA across 131.1 innings. The 29-year-old has been great since joining the Cardinals, and beat the Colorado Rockies with 5.2 innings of one-run ball, allowing six hits and no walks while piling up eight strikeouts.
St. Louis is mostly healthy, although starting pitchers Jack Flaherty (strained shoulder) and Steven Matz (torn MCL) are out. Relievers Drew VerHagen (hip surgery) and Alex Reyes (shoulder surgery) are done for the year. Catcher Yadier Molina is on the restricted list.