Chicago Cubs vs St. Louis Cardinals Betting Pick & Prediction 5/24/24
From Busch Stadium in St. Louis, we have the Cubs and Cardinals facing off in an NL Central matchup. The money line odds have the Cubs as the favorite, with their line sitting at -142 compared to the Cardinals at +121. Tonight’s pitching matchup is Shota Imanaga for the Cubs and Miles Mikolas for the Cardinals. First pitch is set for 8:15 PM ET, and the forecasted temperature is 86 degrees with broken clouds.
The Cubs are 27-24 this season, while the Cardinals are 23-26. Mikolas will be looking to keep the Cardinals’ three-game winning streak alive, while the Cubs are 2nd in the NL Central. Chicago is currently +1.5 games back of the Brewers, while the Cardinals are 3rd in the division.
CHICAGO CUBS VS ST. LOUIS CARDINALS BETTING PICK
The Pick: Chicago Cubs Moneyline -142
This game will be played at Busch Stadium at 8:15 ET on Friday, May 24th.
HOW TO BET THE CUBS VS CARDINALS:
- We have the Cubs winning by a score of 5 to 4
- However, if you’re looking for a run line pick, we like the Cardinals to cover
- As for an over/under pick, we have this game finishing with 9 runs and like the over
Cubs Records & Stats
The Cubs will be looking to get back on track after closing out their series vs. the Braves with a 3-0 loss. Chicago was actually the slight favorite at home going into the game but fell behind early, as the Braves scored three times in the 2nd. The Cubs’ offense only had four hits and didn’t score a run.
Ben Brown got the start for the Cubs and took the loss. He only lasted four innings, giving up three earned runs. Chicago’s bullpen was excellent, though, as they didn’t allow a run over the final five innings. Hayden Wesneski struck out nine in his three innings of work.
Chicago is 27-24 overall this season, and they are 2nd in the NL Central, two games behind the Brewers. The Cubs head into today’s game having lost two straight games, and they went 3-7 over their last 10 games. This season, they are 5-5 in division games.
So far, the Cubs have gone 15-11 at home compared to 12-13 on the road. As the road favorite, the Cubs are 4-2 this season, and they are 12-9 overall as the favorite. Chicago will be looking to get back on track today, as they dropped their last two games of the series vs. the Braves.
When the Cubs win, they win big, as their average run margin in victories is +3.1. When they lose, they lose big, as their average run margin in losses is -3.6. They have a run line record of 26-25, and they have been favored in 21 games, going 6-15 in those contests. As an underdog, they are 20-10 on the run line.
When the Chicago Cubs are on the road, the over/under line is set at 7.5 runs. The Cubs and their opponents have combined to average 8.6 runs per game this season. The Cubs have an over/under record of 21-28 for the season and have played in 60.8% of their games with an over/under line set higher than 7.5 runs.
Shota Imanaga gets the start for the Cubs today as he faces the Cardinals on the road. So far, he has made nine starts and has a record of 5-0 to go along with an ERA of 0.84. Imanaga has made six quality starts this year and is coming off an outing in which he didn’t allow a run. In that start vs. the Pirates, he went seven innings, giving up four hits and one walk. Imanaga has a WHIP of 0.91 and is averaging 9.73 strikeouts per nine innings. For the season, he has allowed three home runs.
Christopher Morel has been a big power threat for the Cubs this season, as his nine home runs are 1st on the team and 8th in the league. However, he is batting just .205 for the season and has really struggled of late, going just 1/13 over his last five games. Michael Busch and Cody Bellinger are tied for 2nd on the team with seven homers apiece, but Bellinger is batting just .241, and Busch is hitting only .235. Bellinger has also gone just 3/20 in his last five games.
As a team, the Cubs are batting just .225 and are 17th in the league in scoring at 4.3 runs per game. This is despite being 4th in the league in walks and having a collective on-base percentage of .309. The Cubs have two players on three-game hitting streaks, with Ian Happ and Dansby Swanson both having gone 4/17 in their last five games.
Cardinals Records & Stats
The Cardinals’s offense was hot right out of the gates in their most recent game vs. the Orioles, closing out their series with a 5-4 win. After allowing three runs to the Orioles in the top of the first, the Cardinals responded with a run of their own. St. Louis went on to add another run in the 5th inning and closed things out with a 3-run 6th. Heading into the game, the Cardinals were the slight favorite at +109 on the money line.
Kyle Gibson put together a good start for the Cardinals, going four innings and not giving up a run. He also issued just one walk and struck out three Orioles batters. However, the Cardinals needed to use four relievers to close things out, and John King took the win out of the bullpen. Ryan Fernandez picked up the save.
St. Louis is hosting the Cubs today with a record of 23-26, which has them five games behind the Brewers for the NL Central lead. So far, they have really struggled against other NL Central teams, going 1-6 this year. The Cardinals have won three straight games, and this came after sweeping the Orioles in a three-game series.
As the home team, the Cardinals are 11-12 this year and 12-14 on the road. St. Louis has won two straight games as the underdog, and they are 11-13 as the underdog overall. The Cardinals have been good in the favorite role, putting together a mark of 12-13. So far, they have an even series record of 8-8 and have won three straight series.
When the Cardinals win, they win big, with an average run margin of +2.6 runs per game. But when they lose, it’s by an average of -3.9 runs per game. That’s why their overall run line record is just 25-24, despite being a slight underdog in more games than they are favored. Their run line record is 13-10 at home, where they have won three in a row against the run line.
Today’s over/under line of 7.5 runs is lower than the average of 8 runs for St. Louis games this season. The Cardinals have played 35 games with higher lines than 7.5 runs, and their over/under record is 23-24 overall. The combined run average in their games is 8.6 runs per game.
St. Louis is sending right-hander Miles Mikolas to the mound today vs. the Cubs. He has made 10 starts this season and has a record of 3-5 with an ERA of 5.77. Looking at his overall numbers, Mikolas has a WHIP of 1.40 and has issued just 1.87 walks per nine innings. Mikolas has made four quality starts this year, and his ERA at home is 6.91 compared to 5.87 on the road. In his last outing, he finished with a no-decision, giving up one earned run in five innings of work. Before that, he had lost two straight starts.
St. Louis comes into today’s game with the 26th ranked scoring offense in the league, averaging just 3.9 runs per game. They have been slightly better at home, putting up 4 runs per contest. As a team, the Cardinals are batting .231, which is 16th in the league, and have the 20th ranked home run total in the league.
Nolan Gorman has been one of the Cardinals’ top power threats this season, as his eight homers are 9th best in the league. However, he is batting just .207. Brendan Donovan has four homers this season and leads the team with 23 RBIs, but he is hitting just .229. Willson Contreras has been a bright spot, batting .280 with six homers.