St. Louis Cardinals (28-21) at Chicago Cubs (23-26)
4:10 PM ET on FOX
Starting Pitchers
STL: A.Ottavino (0-0, N/A)
CHC: C. Silva (6-0, 3.52)
The Cubs will look to even things up as they square off against the St. Louis Cardinals in game two of a three-game set on Saturday afternoon at the friendly confines of Wrigley Field on Chicago’s North Side.
This the latest the NL Central rivals will met for the first time since 1999 when they also opened their season series May 28. St. Louis was 10-6 against Chicago in 2009, and 3-4 at Wrigley –where it hasn’t won a series since April 20-22, 2007.
But that all changed as the Cardinals beat the Cubbies 7-1 in the series opener on Friday that started with a five run rally in the first. Albert Pujols started the scoring with a two RBI single and later scored on a single by Colby Rasmus. Yadier Molina capped the first inning barrage with a two run double to right. Tyler Colvin scored the only run for the Cubs on a solo homer in the fifth, while the Cardinals Ryan Ludwick salted the win with a two-run homer in the ninth.
Hoping for a better outcome on Saturday, the Cubs go with righty Carlos Silva who is a perfect 6-0 to start the season. The 31-year old veteran continues to impress in his first year in Chicago and has been more than fair compensation for Milton Bradley this offseason. Silva won his sixth game of the year on Sunday, defeating the Rangers 5-4. He tossed 5 1/3 innings, allowing three runs off six hits while running his record to 6-0 on the season. He gave up a two-run homer to Michael Young in the third and allowed a two-out RBI single in the fourth for his only damage in the game. Silva has not allowed more than five earned runs in any of his starts this season and has a strikeout to walk ratio of 31-to-11. Silva is 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA in three appearances in his career against St. Louis.
With a banged up bullpen, the Cardinals will need to dig deep and although La Russa as not made an official announcement, he will most likely counter with rookie Adam Ottavino. The 24-year old will make his major league debut when he faces the Cubs on Saturday. The big right-hander is 4-3 with a 4.17 ERA in eight starts for Triple-A Memphis Redbirds. He has 37 strikeouts on 41 innings and has only walked 11.
Odds makers have St. Louis as –1-½ – favorites with a run total of 7.
The Cubs were starting to get it together, having won eight of 11 before dropping Friday’s contest, while the Cardinals entered the series losing two of three in San Diego. They scored just one run combined in the first two games (both losses) before putting up 15 runs in their last two wins.
I’m not sure the Cardinals can survive their bullpen issues through this series and expect the Cubs to win game two and the UNDER, knotting the series at one game apiece.
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St. Louis Cardinals Betting Trends:
- St. Louis is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games on the road
- St. Louis is 4-1 SU in their last 5 games when playing Chi Cubs
Chicago Cubs Betting Trends:
- Chi Cubs are 4-2 SU in their last 6 games
- Chi Cubs are 5-2 SU in their last 7 games at home
- Chi Cubs are 1-4 SU in their last 5 games when playing St. Louis
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