St Louis Cardinals vs Chicago Cubs Prediction, Odds and Preview - 09/24/2021

Game Time: 8:05 pm ET, Friday September 24, 2021

Venue:  Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Cardinals -180, Cubs +155; Over/Under:  6 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Cardinals -192, Cubs +167; Over/Under:  NL runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Cardinals -185, Cubs +150; Over/Under:  7 runs

 

St Louis Cardinals:  83-69 (2nd place, NL Central)

Chicago Cubs:  67-85 (4th place, NL Central)

 

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St Louis Cardinals:  10-0 last 10

Chicago Cubs:  2-8 last 10

 

 

 

The Cardinals are coming into this game and series after a big comeback on Thursday as they cut down a 5-0 deficit to win the game 8-5 against the Milwaukee Brewers. They are now on a 12 game winning streak and are hotter than ever right now. During this run they have taken 2 of 3 games from the Cincinnati Reds, and have completed sweeps over the New York Mets and San Diego Padres in three-game series' while following all that up with a four-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers. This game will be the series opener between them and the Cubs on Friday. Adam Wainwright got the nod for Thursday's game while Jack Flaherty will be the starting pitcher on the mound in this game on Friday. He is 9-2 with a 3.08 ERA this season. After his team won all 9 games that he had started in to begin this season, they have only won 1 game in his last 5 starts now. In his last start, he allowed 4 ER, 2 of them being homers, and 3 BB with 1 K on 4 hits through just 2 IP against the Detroit Tigers back in August. He has not faced the Cubs lineup this season so this will be his first encounter with them. The Cardinals' offense has scored 25 runs in their last 4 games averaging a little over 6 runs scored per game in that span while they have allowed their opponents to score 10 runs against them in that same span allowing over 2 runs per game.

 

The Cubs are coming into this game after losing to the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday and they had Thursday off as a rest day. The Cubs have lost 6 of their last 7 games now and this will be the first game of a three-game series between them and the Cardinals. Kyle Hendricks was the starter on Wednesday while Zach Davies will be throwing the first pitch for them in this game on Friday. He is 6-11 with a 5.49 ERA this season. He has been credited with 5 straight losses and his team has lost the last 3 games that he pitched in. In his last start, he allowed 4 ER and 3 BB with 3 strikeouts on 6 hits through 4.1 innings of work against the Milwaukee Brewers last Friday. He has seen this Cardinals lineup 3 times this year and he is 1-1 against them with 1 no-decision but his team is 2-1 in those games. The first 2 times he faced them this season he did not allow a single run in either game but the last time he saw them he allowed 4 runs as his team went on to lose that game. The Cubs' offense has scored 24 runs in their last 5 games averaging almost 5 runs scored per game in that span while they have allowed their opponents to score 32 runs against them in that same span allowing over 6 runs per game.

 

The Cardinals have managed to spread the gap between them and the other NL teams in the hunt such as the Reds and the Padres. They are still not secure though and after Thursday's big comeback win, it is clear that they will keep trying to win every single game all the way into the postseason. The Cubs have been bad recently and they have been bad all season long. The best bet to make here is on the Cardinals to keep rolling over teams.

 

Cardinals Cubs Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Friday September 24, 2021 (8:05 pm ET start time) is Cardinals 7 Cubs 3.

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St Louis Cardinals: 82-69 (+13.5 units) on the money line in all games. 40-36 (+10.9 units) on the money line in road games.

Chicago Cubs: 12-26 (-7.9 units) on the money line as an underdog of +125 to +175. 67-85 (-11.5 units) on the money line in all games.

 

 

St Louis Cardinals:  J. Flaherty (SP) Prob Fri - Shoulder injury. J. Fernandez (RP) Out indefinitely - Back injury. R. Helsley (RP) out for season - Elbow injury.

Chicago Cubs:  R. Chirinos (C) Ques Thurs - Upper Body injury. J. Heyward (RF) out for season - Concussion injury. A. Rivas (1B) out for season - Finger injury.

 

 

St Louis Cardinals: Paul Goldscmidt is one player to watch in this matchup. He has been really hot in their last few games and his team is still looking to win more and secure their Wild Card spot for the playoffs. Look for him to have a big impact as he gets on base and brings some hitters home in this one.

 

Chicago Cubs: Ian Happ is one player to watch here. He leads his team in hits this regular season and he will need a lot in this game to stop the red hot Cardinals right now. Look for him to get some hits in this game and give his team a chance to play spoiler.

 

"I was able, fortunately, get a ball out of there and tied up the game. It was a great job by the lineup that the next inning continuing to add on and get two more runs." - Paul Goldschmidt after making a big comeback to win the game on Thursday.

 

 

 

"I think that was much more characteristic of how Kyle goes about his business." - David Ross on Kyle Hendricks not walking a single batter in Wednesday’s game.

 

 

T. Edman 2B

P. Goldschmidt 1B

T. O'Neill LF

N. Arenado 3B

D. Carlson RF

Y. Molina C

E. Sosa SS

H. Bader CF

A. Wainwright P

 

L. Arraez 2B

B. Rooker LF

J. Donaldson 3B

M. Kepler RF

M. Sano 1B

N. Gordon CF

R. Jeffers C

A. Simmons SS

J. Ryan P

 

Batting Average:  P. Goldschmidt (.293)

Hits:  P. Goldschmidt (168)

Home Runs:  N. Arenado (33)

RBI:  N. Arenado (103)

Stolen Bases:  T. Edman (27)

Wins:  A. Wainwright (16)

Saves:  A. Reyes (29)

ERA:  T. McFarland (2.45)

 

Batting Average:  F. Schwindel (.342)

Hits:  I. Happ (97)

Home Runs:  P. Wisdom (27)

RBI:  P. Wisdom (59)

Stolen Bases:  R. Ortega (9)

Wins:  K. Hendricks (14)

Saves:  R. Wick (4)

ERA:  B. Wieck (0.00)

 

Managers:

St Louis Cardinals: Mike Shildt (4th season)

Chicago Cubs: David Ross (2nd season)

 

72 degrees F partly cloudy, 48% humidity, 20% chance of rain, up to 16 mph wind speeds NE.