St. Louis Cardinals vs. Chicago Cubs Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 6/4/2022 (Game 1)

Time: 1:20 p.m. ET

Venue: Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL

Where to watch: Bally Sports Midwest, Marquee Sports Network

DraftKings: NL

BetMGM: NL

Caesars: NL

Cardinals: 30-22

Cubs: 22-30

Paul Goldschmidt can't be stopped. He's the official destroyer of worlds right now, and anything thrown his way right now is going to either land in play, or find its way 400 feet away and into the stands of some ballpark.

Goldschmidt homered to extend his hitting streak to 25 games, and the St. Louis Cardinals withstood a fast start from the Chicago Cubs to win 14-5 in the second game of the five-game set on Friday. The series continues Saturday with a doubleheader in Wrigley Field.

"It's fun because of the way he prepares," manager Oliver Marmol said. "You get rewarded when you're preparing the way he is — everything that goes into the video work and just his cage routine and just keeping his body fresh."

Goldschmidt's three-run homer in the third inning to give the Cardinals the lead. After that, it was a blistering output from the Cardinals with five runs in the fourth and three more in the sixth.

During Goldschmidt's hitting streak, he's hit 10 homers and 36 RBI in his last 22 games, and he's suddenly surged to the top of the NL's RBI lead with Pete Alonso. Goldschmidt is one game shy from tying his career-high hitting streak.

But it wasn't just Goldschmidt. Corey Dickerson, who came into the game batting .183, went deep twice, and Nolan Gorman and Lars Nootbaar also went yard to keep the pressure up.

Gorman, the 22-year-old prospect who has been killing baseballs lately, hit a 3-run homer in the top of the fourth to end Marcus Stroman's afternoon. In just his 11th MLB game, he already has three homers.

“What I’ve enjoyed the most about it with him is he comes in after his second punchout and we go back and forth a little bit and he’s able to laugh at himself,” Marmol said candidly. “After that, he’s able to go out there and get something done because he’s slowing the game down. He’s in a good spot.”

Stroman, the Cubs' impromptu ace, got blasted for a career-high nine runs and 10 hits through just four innings. After coming in with just an ERA of 1.80 over his last five starts, Stroman unraveled as the Chicago sun blistered down on the early June day.

"Command was a little off, but I think they were on today," Stroman said. "They just took really good swings and I don't think I had a good game, so just those two combinations."

Patrick Wisdom also continued his strong season with a three-run homer in the first, and added an RBI single in the seventh. Christopher Morel, the rookie who drove in the winning run the other day, extended his on-base streak to 17 games, a club record.

I think it's fair to assume the Cubs get a win in one of these games in the doubleheader, and I think the first one is more likely for the Cubs to get back on track. Primetime seems like a better chance for St. Louis to establish dominance. The Cubs need one to keep pace in this series, which is possible. Cubs win 7-5

Cardinals are 23-18 against right-handed starters this season.

Cardinals are 75-59 against division opponents the past three seasons.

Cubs are 10-17 at home this season.

Cubs are 8-8 against left-handed starters this season.

Cardinals:
Tommy Edman (S) SS
Nolan Gorman (L) DH
Paul Goldschmidt (R) 1B
Nolan Arenado (R) 3B
Brendan Donovan (L) 2B
Corey Dickerson (L) LF
Lars Nootbaar (L) RF
Harrison Bader (R) CF
Andrew Knizner (R) C
SP - TBD

Cubs:
Christopher Morel (R) 2B
Rafael Ortega (L) CF
Ian Happ (S) LF
Frank Schwindel (R) DH
Patrick Wisdom (R) 3B
Jason Heyward (L) RF
P.J. Higgins (R) C
Alfonso Rivas (L) 1B
Andrelton Simmons (R) SS
SP - TBD

Batting average: Paul Goldschmidt -- .349

Home runs: Paul Goldschmidt -- 12

RBI: Paul Goldschmidt -- 47

Wins: Adam Wainwright -- 5

ERA: Adam Wainwright -- 2.75

Batting average: Wilson Contreras -- .278

Home runs: Patrick Wisdom -- 12

RBI: Patrick Wisdom -- 31

Wins: Keegan Thompson -- 6

ERA: Keegan Thompson -- 1.99