Chicago Cubs at St. Louis Cardinals Betting Line & Odds

Written May 21, 2009 by Steve Janus

cubs-cardinals-preview-052109 The St. Louis Cardinals have handed the Chicago Cubs two straight losses in St. Louis in a storied series that has serious implications for the NL Central Standings this year. With the back-to-back wins, the Cardinals are now one game up on the Cubs in the Central and 2 games back from the Milwaukee Brewers thanks to their loss at Houston last night. The Cubs have traditionally played well in St. Louis, going 13-10 over the past 3 seasons there, but the Cards are 4-1 against Chicago in 5 meetings this season. The Cubs look to avoid the 3 game sweep in St. Louis tonight, and both teams try to stay within striking distance of the Brewers in the division. Thursday’s MLB odds show the Cardinals -133 over the Cubs with the total set at 8.5 runs.

Starting Pitching: Sean Marshall will be starting for the Cubbies tonight. So far as a starter this season Marshall is 1-2 with a 4.20 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP in 5 starts. Chicago is 1-4 overall when Marshall is their starter this year. He has 7 career stars against St. Louis, with varying success. Over that span he has a 2-2 record with a 4.33 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. Marshall’s counterpart tonight will be Cardinals’ starter, Adam Wainwright. Wainwright has been solid for the Cards, holding a 3-2 record with a 3.83 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP so far this season and the Cardinals are 5-3 in his 8 total starts. Wainwright has been particularly good at home where he has earned a 3.16 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP in 5 starts this season, but he has not received much run support, which explains the Cardinals 2-3 record in his home starts. Edge: St. Louis

Batting: The Cubs are scoring an average of 4.8 runs per game and hitting merely .250 as a team this season. Those numbers don’t fluctuate much for Chicago on the road. The Cubs have scored just 1 total run in their previous two games against St. Louis, so it’s obvious they will need to find some offensive firepower if they are to have any chance tonight. St. Louis has been solid at home, scoring 4.7 runs per game and hitting .272 as a team, but their weakness this year has been against left-handed starters. In 13 meetings with a lefty starting the Cards are hitting just .238 as a team and scoring only 3.8 runs per game. The good news is that despite these poor offensive numbers against left-handed starters, the Cardinals still have a 8-5 record in those games. Edge: Even

Bullpen: St. Louis’s bullpen has been very effective at home. As a unit they are 3-1 in St. Louis with a 4.22 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. They’ve been especially good at closing the door on games on their home field where they’ve blown just one save in 9 opportunities this season. The Cubs haven’t had much support from their pen. They are carrying a collective record of 5-6 with a 5.33 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP, not to mention their 6 blown saves in 15 attempts this year. Edge: St. Louis

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