St. Louis Fighting for NL Central Top Spot
The St. Louis Cardinals look to inch closer to the top spot in the NL Central when they play host to the Chicago Cubs in the second game of a day-night doubleheader on Thursday night. St. Louis enters the day on a two-game winning streak, sitting 1½ games behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers. Chicago dropped the opener of the series on Tuesday night for its third straight loss and is in last place in the NL Central, percentage points behind the fourth-place Pittsburgh Pirates. These bitter rivals always play tight series, so before you do your betting online, check out our in-depth previewt.
Let’s check the latest MLB news, stats, injury reports, and MLB odds for Cubs vs Cardinals. We’ve plenty of MLB picks & predictions.
Cubs Fading Fast
The Chicago Cubs were thought to be one of the bigger sellers at the trade deadline this season, but Tuesday came and went and players like Willson Contreras and Ian Happ were still on the roster. Chicago is out of contention for any playoff spot but decided to keep the sought-after players to try to build for the future.
The 30-year-old Contreras was happy that he remained in the Windy City, having spent his entire major league career with the Cubs. Contreras is batting .253 with 20 doubles, two triples, 14 home runs, 38 RBIs, and 51 runs scored.
Third baseman Patrick Wisdom has been the big bat in the Cubs’ lineup this season, leading the team with 19 home runs and 50 RBIs. The 30-year-old is batting .224 with 22 doubles and 51 runs scored.
The Cubs had yet to name a starter for the second game of the doubleheader as of this writing. The team’s rotation is set after this contest, so Chicago may try to get by with a bullpen game.
Cardinals on Oitching Roll
The St. Louis Cardinals came into Thursday with a two-game streak of shutouts, and they’ll have newly-acquired Jose Quintana making his first start in the nightcap of the doubleheader. Quintana and Jordan Montgomery were acquired in trades with the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees, respectively, earlier in the week to help beef up a rotation that’s been hit by injuries.
“We really felt like we were getting inconsistency out of our rotation,” Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said about the deals. “But in both guys’ case, we feel like they’re going to be solid contributors to our rotation. You look at how they’ve been performing and what they’ve been able to do, it’s exactly what we needed.”
Quintana is 3-5 with a 3.50 ERA, striking out 89 in 103 innings. The 33-year-old is coming off a solid outing against the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday, throwing 5⅔ shutout innings while allowing just four hits, striking out four, and walking two.
First baseman Paul Goldschmidt continues to build an NL MVP resume, hitting his 25th home run in Tuesday’s win over the Chicago Cubs. Goldschmidt leads baseball with a .332 batting average, hitting 28 doubles, driving in 81 runs, and scoring 70 times.
Third baseman Nolan Arenado also had a home run in Tuesday’s win. Arenado is batting .292 with 24 doubles, a triple, 20 home runs, 61 RBIs, and 46 runs scored.
Cubs vs Cardinals Head-To-Head
The St. Louis Cardinals have a slight 5-4 lead in the season series over the Chicago Cubs after their series-opening win on Tuesday. The eams have split their first four games in Busch Stadium this season, as Chicago won the previous three-game series played at the venue in late June.
The Cardinals have won the season series by a 10-9 count in three of the last four seasons, with the fourth season ending in a 5-5 tie between the clubs. The MLB lines are favoring St. Louis to at least close this day with a win in the nightcap of the doubleheader.
Cubs vs Cardinals Game Information
- Game: Cubs (41-61) vs Cardinals (55-48)
- Location: Busch Stadium
- Day/Time: Thursday, Aug. 4th, 7:45 p.m. ET
- Cubs vs Cardinals Live Stream: MLB.tv
Cubs vs Cardinals Betting Lines
| Team | Handicap | Moneyline | Total | Team Total |
| Chicago Cubs G2 S. Newcomb -L | +1½ -140 | +160 | 8½ -110o | 3½ -120o 3½ -110u |
| St. Louis Cardinals G2 J. Quintana -L | -1½ +120 | -180 | 8½ -110u | 4½ -120o 4½ -110u |
Cubs vs Cardinals Prediction
The St. Louis Cardinals are feeling a little energized with their trade deadline acquisitions, and that should be more than enough to get them past the Chicago Cubs in this one. Chicago just doesn’t have enough offense to get past Quintana and the Cardinals.
When doing your MLB betting, take St. Louis to win at home.
