Chicago Cubs vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction 8-1-24 MLB Picks

In this article we will formulate a Chicago Cubs vs St. Louis Cardinals prediction for this MLB game on Thursday, August 1st at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. Let’s take a look at the prediction for game one in the series.

Cubs Able to Avoid the Sweep 

The Chicago Cubs are 52-58 this year and they have won three of their last five games. Chicago is coming off of a series loss against Cincinnati, where they lost two out of three games. Prior to that series, the Cubs won two out of three against the Royals, lost two out of three against the Brewers, and lost two out of three against the Diamondbacks. Chicago is 3-5 in their last eight games and they are last in the NL Central. 

The Chicago pitching staff has a 3.79 ERA, a 1.25 WHIP, and a .238 opponent batting average. The Cubs offense has scored 457 runs with a .234 batting average and a .310 on base percentage. Seiya Suzuki is batting .270 with 15 home runs and 52 RBI’s for the Cubs this season. Chicago has scored at least seven runs in three of their last five games. 

Cardinals Pick Up a Game on Milwaukee 

The St. Louis Cardinals are 56-52 this season and they have won three of their last four games. St. Louis is coming off of a series win against Texas, where they won two out of three games. Prior to that series, the Cardinals lost two out of three against the Nationals, lost two out of three against the Pirates, and won two out of three against the Braves. St. Louis is 4-5 in their last nine games and they are second in the NL Central. 

The St. Louis pitching staff has a 4.04 ERA, a 1.27 WHIP, and a .251 opponent batting average. The Cardinals offense has scored 454 runs with a .247 batting average and a .310 on base percentage. Nolan Arenado is batting .263 with 11 home runs and 45 RBI’s for the Cardinals this season. St. Louis has scored at least eight runs in three of their last six games.

Starting Pitchers

The projected starting pitcher for Chicago is Shota Imanaga, who is 8-2 with a 2.95 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP over 109.2 innings pitched this year. Imanaga has allowed one earned run or fewer in two of his last three starts. The projected starting pitcher for St. Louis is Sonny Gray, who is 10-6 with a 3.79 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP over 111.2 innings pitched this season. Gray has allowed five earned runs in three of his last four starts. 

Why the Cubs will beat the Cardinals

• The Cardinals have lost four of their last five games against NL Central opponents following a win.
• The Cubs have won each of their last four night games against the Cardinals following a win.
• The Cardinals have failed to cover the run line each of their last five games against National League opponents that held a losing record.
• The Cubs have covered the run line in each of their last four night games against the Cardinals following a win.

Total Runs Facts

• Each of the Cubs’ last nine home games have gone UNDER the total runs line.
• Each of the Cardinals’ last five games as road underdogs have gone UNDER the total runs line.
• The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Cardinals’ last 11 games as underdogs against NL Central opponents.
• The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Cubs’ last eight night games at Wrigley Field.

Chicago Cubs Player Prop Facts

• Cody Bellinger has recorded at least one RBI in each of his last five appearances against NL opponents.
• Ian Happ has scored at least one run in 11 of his last 12 appearances against the Cardinals after playing the previous day.
• Shota Imanaga has recorded six or more strikeouts in six of his last seven home appearances.
• Cody Bellinger has recorded at least one Single in each of his last eight home appearances against NL opponents.
• Ian Happ has recorded at least one total base in each of the Cubs’ last 12 home games against NL Central opponents that held a winning record.
• Ian Happ has recorded at least one hit in each of the Cubs’ last 12 home games against NL Central opponents that held a winning record.
• Patrick Wisdom has hit a home run in each of the Cubs’ last two games against opponents that held a winning record.
• Nick Madrigal has recorded a Double in each of his last three appearances with the Cubs as favorites against the Cardinals.

St. Louis Cardinals Player Prop Facts

• Willson Contreras has hit a home run in each of the Cardinals’ last two games against NL opponents.
• Alec Burleson has recorded at least one RBI in seven of the Cardinals’ last eight games against NL Central opponents that held a losing record.
• Sonny Gray has recorded seven or more strikeouts in eight of his last 10 appearances against the Cubs.
• Masyn Winn has scored at least one run in each of the Cardinals’ last five night games against NL opponents that held a losing record.
• Alec Burleson has recorded a Single in eight of the Cardinals’ last nine games as road underdogs.
• Nolan Arenado has recorded at least one total base in each of the Cardinals’ last nine road games against the Cubs.
• Willson Contreras has recorded at least one hit in each of his last 12 appearances in night games against NL teams that held a losing record.
• Brandon Crawford has recorded a Double in each of his last three appearances with the Cardinals as road underdogs.
• Sonny Gray ranks T10th in the league for Wins (10) this season.

Matchup/League Facts

• The Chicago Cubs rank T6th in the league for walks this season (366).
• The Chicago Cubs rank T24th in the league for home runs this season (108).
• The St. Louis Cardinals rank 26th in the league for strikeouts this season (862).
• The St. Louis Cardinals rank 25th in the league for doubles this season (158).

Chicago Cubs vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction 

St. Louis comes into this series just five games behind Milwaukee in the race for the NL Central and they were able to score a bunch of runs in their last two games against Texas. The Cardinals are 27-27 on the road, while the Cubs are 27-25 at home. Chicago was able to avoid being swept with a win on Wednesday, but they continue to play poorly over the last few months. The Cubs are starting Imanaga, who has been great this season, but has had a few rough outings in the last month. The Cards are going with Gray, who has really struggled in his last four starts. I don’t love backing the Cubs with how they have looked since June, but I don’t want anything to do with Sonny Gray right now. My Chicago Cubs vs St. Louis Cardinals prediction is for the Cubs to win.