St. Louis Cardinals vs. Chicago Cubs Top Play 7/20/23

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Chicago Cubs
Date: Thursday, July 20th, 8:05 ET
Location: Wrigley Field
TV: MLBN
Money Line: Cardinals +110/Cubs -134 (STOP overpaying for odds! Start betting at reduced odds at BetanySports! It’s FREE and saves you TONS of money!)
Total Line: 8.5

Betting Preview

Here’s our betting preview for the upcoming MLB clash between the Chicago Cubs and the Cardinals on Thursday, July 20th at Wrigley Field. 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

Cardinals vs. Cubs Projected Lineup

Straight Up/Over-Under/ Runline Record

St. Louis Cardinals: 43-53 SU / OU 50-45 / Runline 48-48
Chicago Cubs: 45-50 SU / OU 50-42 / Runline 50-45

On a record of 43-53, the Cardinals are 4th in the NL Central. Currently, they are 10 games out of the division lead. Against the Cubs, they will be seeking their 6th straight win. On the road, they have a record of 21-27 while going 22-26 at home. St. Louis’ overall series record is 10-15-4.

• The Cardinals have covered the runline in five straight games and have a season-long run margin of -0.2.
• The Cardinals have been favored in 57.3% of their games and have runline records of 21-27 and 27-21 at home and on the road, respectively
• The over has hit in 53% of the Cardinals’ 96 games at 50-45.

On a record of 45-50, the Cubs are 3rd in the NL Central. Currently, they are 7.5 games out of the division lead. Against the Cardinals, they will be seeking their 3rd straight win. On the road, they have a record of 21-25 while going 24-25 at home. Chicago’s overall series record is 13-12-4.

• The Cubs have covered the runline in two straight games and have a season-long run margin of 0.4.
• The Cubs have been favored in 49.5% of their games and have runline records of 25-24 and 25-21 at home and on the road, respectively
• The over has hit in 54% of the Cubs’ 95 games at 50-42.

Pitching Matchup

Steven Matz heads into the game with an overall record of 0-7 and an ERA of 4.86. In his nine appearances on the road, he has an ERA of 5.23 and record of 0-3. At home, he has put together a mark of 0-4 and ERA of 4.41. His season-long WHIP stands at 1.51, accompanied by a batting average allowed of .274. Teams facing him have amassed a slugging percentage of .425.

Looking back at Matz’s last appearance, he allowed four hits across 4 1/3 innings of work. Overall, he finished with four earned runs. Despite not factoring into the decision, the Cardinals won by a score of 9-6 over the Nationals.

The Cubs will turn to starter Marcus Stroman who has an overall record of 10-6. After 20 appearances, his ERA is 2.88, and he has a K/9 figure of 7.66. Also, he has compiled a FIP of 3.39 and an OBP of .270.

Chicago is hoping that Marcus Stroman can help guide them to another win, as they defeated the Red Sox (10-4) the last time he pitched. He finished the game with one earned run on three hits across six innings.

Cardinals vs. Cubs Offense Outlook

As of now, the Cardinals are one of the top home run hitting teams in baseball, with a total of 131 home runs (6th). Their overall performance has been impressive, averaging 4.7 runs per game with a collective batting average of .257. When playing on the road, their slugging percentage is .407 compared to .432 at home.

St. Louis Cardinals Team Hitting Stats

St. Louis Cardinals Top Hitters: Last Five Games

On offense, Chicago is 10th in the league with an average of 4.8 runs per game. When looking at their home run numbers, they are 16th, having hit 106 homers. Their overall batting average is .251, including .236 on the road and .253 at home.

Chicago Cubs Top Bats

Chicago Cubs Top Hitters: Last Five Games

Free MLB Pick

This will be my third total of the day. The Cardinals’ starter Steven Matz has decent overall historic numbers versus the Cubs line-up (.214 BA over 42 at-bats), but the number is skewed by Yan Gomes’s 3 of 14 and Trey Mancini’s 2 of 11. Matz is 0-7 on the season overall and brings a 6.03 road ERA into tonight’s game. Marcus Stroman started the season out extremely well but has faltered lately, with just one quality start in his last four outings. He was chased in the fourth in his last start against St. Louis after allowing six runs (three earned) in 3 1/3 innings pitched.

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