Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals Best Bet 5/25/24

Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals
Date: Saturday, May 25th, 7:15 ET
Location: Busch Stadium
TV: FOX
Money Line: Cubs -104/Cardinals -116
Total Line: 8.5

Betting Preview

Here’s our betting preview for the upcoming MLB clash between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cubs on Saturday, May 25th at Busch Stadium. We provide you with a comprehensive analysis, odds, and predictions to help with your handicapping decision or tail our expert based on the projected lineups and listed starting pitchers.

Betting Odds

From Busch Stadium in St. Louis, we have the Cubs and Cardinals facing off in an NL Central matchup. The Cubs are 2nd in the NL Central, as they have a record of 27-24, while the Cardinals are on a 3-game winning streak and are 3rd in the division at 23-26.

FOX will be televising Saturday’s Cubs vs. Cardinals matchup, with the first pitch being set for 7:15 PM ET. The money line odds have the Cubs at -104 compared to the Cardinals at -116. The over/under line is currently 8.5 runs, and tonight’s pitching matchup is Jameson Taillon for the Cubs and Miles Mikolas for the Cardinals.

Cubs vs. Cardinals Projected Lineup

Straight Up/Over-Under/ Runline Record

Chicago Cubs: 27-24 SU / OU 21-28 / Runline 26-25
St. Louis Cardinals: 23-26 SU / OU 23-24 / Runline 25-24

Cubs Records & Recent Play

Chicago closed out their series vs. the Braves with a 3-0 loss. Heading into the game, the Cubs were the slight favorite at -119 on the money line. Things really got away from the Cubs in the 8th inning, as the Braves scored two runs in the inning to break things open. Chicago’s offense scored their only two runs in the 4th.

Ben Brown got the start for the Cubs and took the loss. He only lasted four innings, giving up six hits and issuing two walks. The Cubs also wasted a big game from Seiya Suzuki, who went 2/4 with a run scored.

Chicago is 27-24 overall this season, and they are 2.5 games behind the Brewers for the NL Central lead. The Cubs have dropped two straight games, and they went 5-5 in divisional games. So far, they are 15-11 at home and 12-13 on the road.

The Cubs have lost three straight series, and their overall series record is 7-7-2. When favored, Chicago is 12-9 this year and 15-15 as the underdog. Their most recent series loss came vs. the Braves, and they are just 3-7 over their last 10 games.

The Cubs have a run line record of 26-25 on the season, but they have been a much better bet on the road, where they are 15-10. Chicago has been an underdog in 30 games this season and has covered the run line in 20 of those contests. The Cubs’ average run margin in winning games is +3.1, while it is -3.6 in their losses.

Chicago Cubs games have gone over the total in 21 of 49 games this season, but the Cubs have played to the under in 28 of their 51 games. The average combined run total in Cubs games this season is 8.6. When the over/under line is set at 8.5 runs, the Cubs have played to the over in six of 10 games. The Cubs have played in 13 games with an over/under line set at 8.5 runs, which represents 25.5% of their games this season.

Cardinals Records & Recent Play

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 underdog at +109.

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 a big 6th inning to pick up the win, and Gibson was already out of the game by that point.

St. Louis is hosting the Cubs today with an overall record of 23-26, and they are 5.5 games behind the Brewers for the NL Central lead. So far, they have really struggled against other NL Central teams, going 1-6 this season. The Cardinals have won three straight games, and this came after sweeping the Orioles in a three-game series.

At home, the Cardinals are 11-12 this season and 12-14 on the road. As the underdog, the Cardinals are 11-13 this year, and they have won two straight as the underdog overall. St. Louis has been good in closing out series, as they have won three straight series finales, and their overall series record is 8-8.

When the Cardinals win, they win big, with an average run margin of 2.6 runs. But when they lose, they lose big, with an average run margin of -3.9 runs. They have a run line record of 25-24 on the season, with a 13-10 mark at home. They have covered the run line in three straight games at home and are 15-9 as an underdog.

Today’s over/under line of 8.5 runs is slightly higher than the St. Louis Cardinals’ average combined run average of 8.6 runs per game this season. The Cardinals have played in 47 games, and their over/under record is 23-24. When the over/under line has been set at 8.5 runs, the over has hit in 13 of those 19 games. This season, 16.3% of the Cardinals’ games have had over/under lines set at 8.5 runs.

Pitching Matchup

Jameson Taillon gets the start for the Cubs today as he faces the Cardinals on the road. He has made six starts this season and has a record of 3-2 with an ERA of 2.20. Taillon’s WHIP for the season is 1.19, and he has turned in two quality starts. In his most recent outing, he took the loss, giving up three earned runs in 4 2/3 innings of work. Before that, he had given up at least two earned runs in three straight outings. Taillon will be looking to get back on track today and pitch more like he did on May 4th, when he pitched six scoreless innings and got the win.

St. Louis is sending Miles Mikolas to the mound today vs. the Cubs, and he is looking to build off his last outing, where he gave up just one earned run in five innings of work. In that outing vs. the Red Sox, he gave up just two hits and issued one walk. Mikolas finished with a no-decision in that outing. Looking back at his last three starts, he has finished with a no-decision in two of them. Mikolas has given up three earned runs in each of his last two starts. His ERA for the season is 5.77, and his record is 3-5.

Cubs vs. Cardinals Offense Outlook

Chicago’s offense has been one of the worst in the league so far, as they are just 18th in the league in runs per game and are batting a collective .225. The team’s home run numbers are also just 15th in the league. However, they have been good at drawing walks and have a collective on-base percentage of .309.

Christopher Morel and Cody Bellinger have been the Cubs’ top power threats so far, with Morel leading the team with nine homers and Bellinger right behind him with seven. Morel’s 33 RBIs are also the best mark on the team, while Bellinger is 2nd on the team with 22 RBIs. Nico Hoerner and Michael Busch have also been solid contributors, with Hoerner batting .257 and Busch at .235.

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 a bit better at home, putting up 4 runs per contest. As a team, the Cardinals are batting .231, which is 16th in the league, and their team on-base percentage of .308 is also just average compared to the rest of the league. One area they have been strong is in drawing walks, as they are 8th in the league in that category.

St. Louis has two hitters who have been swinging the bat well of late, as Alec Burleson is on an eight-game hitting streak and has gone 15/37 in his last 10 games. Nolan Gorman has also been hot, going 7/25 with three homers in his last eight games. Gorman’s eight homers this season is the best mark on the team and 10th in the league.

Free Cubs vs. Cardinals MLB Pick

Our pick for today’s Cubs vs. Cardinals matchup is to take the Cubs on the money line, with the payout sitting at -104. We have the Cubs winning this one by a final score of 5-4.

Looking at the starting pitchers, Miles Mikolas is projected to finish with the most runs allowed among all starters today. On the other side, Jameson Taillon is projected to finish with just four strikeouts, which is the third-lowest among today’s starters.