Bitter rivals
Chicago and
St. Louis open a four game set at Busch Stadium tonight with Travis Wood and Shelby Miller on the hill. This evening’s meeting between the
Cubs and
Cardinals is scheduled to get underway at 7:00pm ET on ESPN. ESPN
Monday Baseball Odds at offshore bookmaker 5Dimes have the Cardinals listed as a -192 moneyline favorite ($192 wins $100) and the Over/Under set at 7.5 runs (Under favored at -120 odds). Chicago is drawing +181 odds ($100 wins $181) to take tonight’s series opener.
The Cardinals closed out a nine game road stand last night in unspectacular fashion as they fell 2-7 to the lowly Marlins. The setback ensured a series loss to Miami and dropped St. Louis record to a still NL Central best 44-25.
The Cardinals will look to shake off their unusual collapse against the bottom feeding Marlins by roughing up on the Cubs.
To that end, St. Louis, a winner in nine of its last 13 meetings with Chicago, will give the ball to rookie Shelby Miller. Miller’s season numbers are fantastic as he brings a 7-4 record, 2.21 ERA, and 0.97 WHIP, but his Busch Stadium totals are even more mind numbing.
In six home starts Miller is 4-1 with a 1.12 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, and a .179 batting average against. The Texas native also has 50 strikeouts in 40.1 innings pitched at Busch.
The 28-39 Cubs, who had a three game winning streak snapped yesterday, will attempt to foil the Cards plan with Travis Wood on the hill. The left handed Wood has his own set of impressive stats, sporting a 2.54 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and .191 batting average against; however, his performance has not helped the Cubs in the win column all that much (1-4 in his last five starts).
Notable Trends: The Cardinals, who are hitting just .232 against left handed pitching (23rd in the league), are 1-5 in their last six games as a home favorite against left handed pitching with a total between 7.5 and 8 runs.
Chicago Cubs +1.5 (-125), Over 7.5 (+100), +181 (Moneyline)
St. Louis Cardinals -1.5 (+105), Under 7.5 (-120), -192 (Moneyline)
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