Chicago Cubs vs St. Louis Cardinals Betting Pick & Prediction 7/13/24

From Busch Stadium in St. Louis, we have the Cubs and Cardinals facing off in an NL Central matchup. The Cubs have won five straight and are 46-49 overall, while the Cardinals are 48-45 and are 2nd in the NL Central. St. Louis is favored on the money line today, and the over/under line is at 9 runs.

First pitch for this one is set for 2:15 PM ET, and the forecast looks good in St. Louis with temperatures in the low 80s and partly cloudy skies. MARQ will be televising this one, and today’s pitching matchup features Hayden Wesneski for the Cubs and Lance Lynn for the Cardinals.

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS VS CHICAGO CUBS BETTING PICK

The Pick: St. Louis Cardinals Moneyline -137

This game will be played at Busch Stadium at 2:15 ET on Saturday, July 13th.

HOW TO BET THE CUBS VS CARDINALS:

• We have the Cardinals winning by a score of 6 to 5
• However, if you’re looking for a run line pick, we like the Cubs to cover
• As for an over/under pick, we have this game finishing with 11 runs and like the over

Chicago cruised to a 5-1 win over the Cardinals in the most recent game of this series. The Cubs had a huge 8th inning, scoring two runs in the 7th and adding three more in the 8th. As for the Cardinals, they scored their only run in the 9th.

Kyle Hendricks pitched well for the Cubs in this one, going seven innings and giving up just one run. He finished the game with three strikeouts but issued one walk. On the other side, Sonny Gray got the start for the Cardinals and gave up three earned runs in seven innings of work.

Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson each had two hits and two RBIs for the Cubs’ offense. Miles Mastrobuoni also had a two-hit game and scored twice. As for the Cardinals, Lars Nootbaar went 2/4 with an RBI.

Cubs Records & Stats

After winning the first game of their series vs. the Cardinals, the Cubs’ overall record is 46-49, and they are eight games behind the Brewers in the NL Central. The Cubs are 5th in the division and have gone just 11-19 in divisional games this year. Chicago has won five straight games overall and has gone 7-3 over their last ten.

At home, the Cubs have gone 25-21 this year, and they are four games under .500 at 21-28 on the road. As the road underdog, the Cubs are 15-22 this year, and they have won four straight games as the underdog overall. Chicago’s overall series record is 11-16-2, and they have won two straight series.

When betting the run line, the Cubs have been a better play on the road this season, where they are 29-20. They have covered the run line in four straight road games and are 34-17 as an underdog. Their average run margin in winning games is +3.3 runs, while it’s -3.2 runs in losing games.

Chicago Cubs games have gone under the over/under line in three straight contests, and their games have gone under the line in 71.6% of their games this season. The Cubs’ games have had an average combined run total of 8.4 runs per game, and the over/under line for today’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals is set at 9 runs. Chicago’s over/under record this season is 40-51, and their games have had an average over/under line of 8 runs per game.

Chicago is sending right-hander Hayden Wesneski to the mound today vs. the Cardinals. He has made six starts and 23 appearances this season, coming in with a record of 3-5 and an ERA of 3.67. Opponents have a batting average of .195 vs. Wesneski this season. In his 56 1/3 innings of work, he has turned in three quality starts. Looking back at his most recent outing, Wesneski picked up the win vs. the Angels, going 6 1/3 innings and not giving up a run. Before that, he had allowed at least three earned runs in three straight outings.

So far this season, the Cubs offense has been just below average, scoring 4.2 runs per game. They have been a bit better at home, averaging 4.3 runs per game. As a team, they are batting .234, which is 14th in the league, and are 18th in home runs. Chicago comes into the game with a team on-base percentage of .313.

Chicago’s top power threat is Ian Happ, who is 2nd on the team with 14 homers and is 13th in the league in RBIs. However, he is batting just .241 for the season. Christopher Morel has 16 homers for the Cubs but is batting just .198. Cody Bellinger is 3rd on the team with a batting average of .269 and has gone deep nine times. Over his last five games, Michael Busch is hitting .375 with two homers and six RBIs.

Cardinals Records & Stats

St. Louis is five games behind the Brewers in the NL Central and are 48-45 overall. The Cardinals have dropped three straight games, losing the series opener vs. the Cubs. So far, they are 13-13 in divisional games.

At home, the Cardinals are 24-21 this year and 24-24 on the road. As the favorite, the Cardinals are 25-22 and 23-23 as the underdog. St. Louis has lost three straight as the favorite. So far, their overall series record is 15-12-2, and they have won two straight series on the road.

St. Louis has been a tough team to predict on the run line this season, as they are just 46-47 overall. They have been better at home, going 24-21, but they have failed to cover the run line in three straight games at home. They have been a better bet on the run line as the underdog, going 29-17, compared to just 17-30 as the favorite. Their average run differential is -0.5 runs per game, and they have been outscored by an average of 0.4 runs per game at home.

The St. Louis Cardinals are playing at home today against the Chicago Cubs. The over/under line for the game is set at 9 runs, which is higher than their average combined run average of 8.6 runs per game. The Cardinals’ over/under record for the season is 43-47, and their average over/under line is 8 runs per game. When the over/under line is set at 9 runs, their record is 8-6-1. So far this season, only 7.5% of their games have had over/under lines set at 9 runs or higher.

Lance Lynn will be looking to bounce back from a rough outing vs. the Nationals, as he gave up 10 earned runs in just 2 2/3 innings of work. In that start, he gave up three home runs. Before that outing, Lynn had won two straight starts and hadn’t given up more than one earned run in either of those outings. For the season, he has a record of 4-4 and an ERA of 4.48. Lynn’s WHIP for the season is currently 1.41. Looking at his overall numbers, he has a batting average allowed of .249 and has issued 3.49 walks per nine innings compared to 8.57 strikeouts.

Heading into today’s game, the Cardinals offense is averaging just 4.1 runs per game, which is 23rd in the league. They are also near the bottom of the league in home runs and have a team slugging percentage of just .381. As a team, they are batting .243, which is 10th in the league.

St. Louis has a few hitters who are near the top of the league in home runs, with Nolan Gorman’s 17 homers being 11th in the MLB, and Alec Burleson’s 15 home runs being 13th in the league. Burleson is also the team’s leading hitter in terms of RBIs, with 48. Over his last five games, Burleson is 7/20 with two homers and six RBIs. Paul Goldschmidt and Burleson are both on five-game hitting streaks.