St Louis Cardinals vs Chicago Cubs Prediction, Preview and Odds - 08/02/2024

Game Time: 2:20 pm ET, Friday, August 2, 2024

Venue:  Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL 

Where to Watch:  MARQ

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Cardinals -115, Cubs -105; Over/Under:  7.5 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Cardinals -115, Cubs -105; Over/Under:  7.5 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Cardinals -115, Cubs -105; Over/Under:  7.5 runs

St Louis Cardinals:  56-52 (2nd place, NL Central)

Chicago Cubs:  52-58 (5th place, NL Central)

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St Louis Cardinals:  5-5 last 10

Chicago Cubs:  5-5 last 10

The Cardinals are entering this series off a win and won their 3-game series against the Texas Rangers 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 56-52 record overall and have a road record of 27-27. This is the 2nd game of a 4-game series with the Cubs on Friday with the series opener of this series still to be played on Thursday. Their offense ranks 18th in the MLB with a .698 OPS. Sonny Gray is their starting pitcher on Thursday while Erick Fedde is making his start in this game on Friday. He is 7-4 with a 3.11 ERA this season. His team lost their last 2 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 3 ER, 1 HR, and 2 BB with 4 Ks on 6 hits through 4 IP against the Seattle Mariners.

The Cubs are entering this series off a win and lost their 3-game series against the Cincinnati Reds 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 52-58 record overall and have a home record of 27-25. This is the 2nd game of a 4-game series with the Cardinals on Friday with the 1st game of this series still to be played on Thursday. Their offense ranks 21st in the MLB with a .688 OPS. Rookie pitcher Shota Imanaga is their starting pitcher on Thursday while Javier Assad is making his start in this game on Friday. He is 5-3 with a 3.23 ERA this season. His team won their last 2 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 3 earned runs, 1 homer, and 1 BB with 5 strikeouts on 5 hits through 6 innings played against the Kansas City Royals.

The current betting odds have the Cubs listed as a slight underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Cubs haven't looked good in their games this season with their 52-58 record overall which has them at the bottom of the NL Central and out of the playoff race. They have looked better in their home games though with their 27-25 home record. Meanwhile, the Cardinals have looked good in their games this season with their 56-52 record overall which has them in 2nd place of the NL Central, but that record also has them barely in the playoff race in the NL. They haven't looked as good in their road games either, going 27-27 in those this season. Both of these teams are 5-5 in their last 10 games and haven't been great lately, but the Cubs do have the more favorable pitching matchup here which will help them take this game at home. The Cubs are going with Assad in this one and he is 5-3 with a 3.23 ERA this season. He gave up 3 earned runs in his last start, but that was also against a stronger Royals offense. He hasn't really been giving up many runs in his starts all year and the team has been finding success with him on the mound lately, winning 2 games in a row with him starting. The Cardinals are going to have Fedde on the mound in this one and he hasn't looked bad this season. He is 7-4 with a 3.11 ERA and hasn't been giving up many runs all year either. He did give up 3 earned runs in his last start which was against a weaker Mariners offense, and his team has also lost 2 games in a row with him starting. The Cardinals are coming off a series win against the Rangers and their offense has been hot in those games, but they are going to struggle more against Assad in this one. The pitching hasn't been great on either side really, but the Cubs will have the edge here at home as they have played better at home all season. The best way to place a bet here is on the Cubs to win this game. 

Cardinals Cubs Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Friday, August 2, 2024 (2:20 pm ET start time) is Cubs 2 Cardinals 1.

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St Louis Cardinals: 8-1 (+6.60 units) on the runline in their last 9 away games. 8-1 (+6.80 units) on the first 5 runline in their last 9 away games. 32-23 to the under with their first 5 team total in their last 55 away games. 

Chicago Cubs: 32-50 (-28.70 units) on the runline in their last 82 games. 14-27 (-17.05 units) on the first 5 runline in their last 41 home games. 25-12 to the under with their team total in their last 37 home games. 

St Louis Cardinals:  L. Lynn (SP) Mid Aug - Knee. S. Matz (SP) Out indefinitely - Back. K. Middleton (RP) Out indefinitely - Forearm. R. O'Brien (SP) Out indefinitely - Elbow. D. Rom (SP) Out indefinitely - Shoulder.

Chicago Cubs:  B. Brown (SP) Out indefinitely - Neck. T. Nido (C) Out indefinitely - Knee. L. Little (SP) out for season - Back. H. Wesneski (RP) Early Aug - Forearm. J. Wicks (SP) Out indefinitely - Oblique. C. Brewer (RP) Out indefinitely - Hand. Y. Almonte (RP) out of season - Shoulder. K. Thompson (SP) Mid July - Ribs. A. Alzolay (RP) Out indefinitely - Forearm.

“Oh man, that was awesome to watch. Probably the most impressive thing is how in control he was. He didn't make the moment any bigger than it was. The game never sped up on him." - Oliver Marmol after his team’s win against the Rangers in their game on Wednesday.

“We hit a lot of balls hard.” - Craig Counsell after his team’s win against the Reds in their game on Wednesday.

M Winn (R) SS

W Contreras (R) DH

A Burleson (L) RF

N Arenado (R) 3B

P Goldschmidt (R) 1B

T Pham (R) LF

B Donovan (L) 2B

P Pagés (R) C

M Siani (L) CF

I Happ (S) LF

I Paredes (R) 3B

S Suzuki (R) RF

C Bellinger (L) DH

P Wisdom (R) 1B

N Hoerner (R) 2B

D Swanson (R) SS

C Bethancourt (R) C

P Crow-Armstrong (L) CF

Batting Average:  Tommy Pham (.667)

Hits:  Brendan Donovan (105)

Home Runs:  Nolan Gorman (19)

RBI:  Alec Burleson (63)

Stolen Bases:  Michael Siani (14)

Wins:  Sonny Gray (10)

Saves:  Ryan Helsley (33)

ERA:  Ryan Loutos (0.00)

Batting Average:  Christian Bethancourt (.375)

Hits:  Nico Hoerner (98)

Home Runs:  Ian Happ (17)

RBI:  Ian Happ (62)

Stolen Bases:  Pete Crow-Armstrong (20)

Wins:  Shota Imanaga (8)

Saves:  Héctor Neris (14)

ERA:  Jesus Tinoco (0.00)

Managers:

St Louis Cardinals: Oliver Marmol (3rd season)

Chicago Cubs: Craig Counsell (1st season)