St. Louis Cardinals vs. Chicago Cubs Pick
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The St. Louis Cardinals are in a dog fight in the NL Central, and will need to beat opponents that they are favored over consistently as the season’s end closes in.
Date/Time: Saturday, July 30, 4:10 P.M. ET
Venue: Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri
Broadcast: FOX
Chicago Cubs at St. Louis Cardinals Betting Lines
Money Line: St. Louis Cardinals -190, Chicago Cubs +160
Spread: St. Louis Cardinals -1.5
Over/Under: 8.5
They need to start this Saturday, when they face the Chicago Cubs yet again in a division matchup that has been dominated by St. Louis in 2011.
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Both teams will be starting middle-of-the-rotation pitchers, but the Cardinals have a clear advantage in the matchup.
Right-hander Kyle Lohse (8-7) will take the mound for St. Louis. Lohse has had quite a pedestrian year with an ERA of 3.46, but can still put batters away swinging with 68 strikeouts.
The 32-year-old hasn’t had great success against Chicago throughout his career, and 2011 isn’t any different. In Lohse’s one start of the year against the Cubs, he was taken out in the sixth inning having been knocked around for four earned runs. He finished the game with a 6.35 ERA.
Pitching for the Cubs will be 35-year-old Rodrigo Lopez. The veteran right-hander is having a bit of a comeback this year, having started five games. Lopez is used to coming in from the bullpen, so this is quite new to the seasoned pitcher.
Unfortunately for him, will be going up against one of the best hitting teams in the entire majors.
The Cardinals’ offense has been magnificent in 2011, ranking third in batting average, third in on-base percentage and fifth in runs. The offense is looking like they did when they won the World Series a few years ago, and they have hitters up and down the lineup.
The team indeed has arguably the best lineup in baseball, and Lance Berkman has been at the head of it all year. He leads the Cardinals in RBIs and homeruns, but is day-to-day at the moment, but is expected to play on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Cubs’ offense has again been a disappointment. The Cubs are always the talk of the town during the offseason, but year after year their bats just never show up; and 2011 has been no different.
The odds makers have the St. Louis Cardinals as a -1.5 point favorite with an run total of 8.5.
Matt’s Free Prediction: St. Louis – The Cubs are the biggest disappointment on the 2011 season, and don’t expect his to change against the extremely hot Cardinals team. Be sure to check the injury list for Beckman before laying anything down though, but even if he doesn’t play, the Cardinals’ lineup is one of the best without him.
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St. Louis Cardinals Betting Trends:
- St. Louis is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games
- St. Louis is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games at home
- The total has gone OVER in 7 of St. Louis’s last 9 games when playing Chi Cubs
- St. Louis is 5-0 SU in their last 5 games when playing Chi Cubs
Chicago Cubs Betting Trends:
- Chi Cubs are 1-4 SU in their last 5 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Chi Cubs’s last 10 games
- The total has gone OVER in 6 of Chi Cubs’s last 9 games on the road
- Chi Cubs are 0-5 SU in their last 5 games on the road
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