St. Louis Cardinals (11-24) vs. Chicago Cubs (17-17)
May 8, 2023 7:40 pm EDT
The Line: Chicago Cubs -145 / St. Louis Cardinals +125; Over/Under: 8.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs meet Monday in MLB action from Wrigley Field. The Cardinals are fresh off a weekend series versus the Tigers. After losses in the first two games, on Sunday St. Louis won by six runs. As for the Cubs, they took on the Marlins over the weekend, winning their first pair. In the finale Chicago took a tough loss in a lengthy game. Check back all season long for free MLB picks at Sports Chat Place.
St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals lost to the Tigers 5-4 in their Friday matchup, then took another loss 6-5 on Saturday. In the Sunday finale St. Louis finally got a victory 12-6 thanks to seven sixth-inning runs. Starter Steven Matz put up 5.1 innings with one earned on five hits and zero walks.
For the starter job in the Monday game, it’ll be Miles Mikolas. In his seven starts so far Mikolas is 1-1 with a 5.79 ERA and 34 Ks in 37.1 innings. Mikolas is 46-41 with a 3.80 career ERA in 150 games (122 starts).
Chicago Cubs
Over on the Cubs’ side, they beat the marlins 4-1 Friday and 4-2 in the Saturday game. On Sunday Chicago ended up losing a tough one 5-4 in 14 innings. Hayden Wesneski lasted 6.0 frames in the starting role with one earned on five hits alongside six Ks.
As the starting pitcher Monday, the Cubs will go with Marcus Stroman. In his seven starts this year Stroman is 2-2 with a 2.18 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 41.1 innings. Stroman is 69-69 with a 3.57 ERA in 211 career games (205 starts).
The Cardinals are 16-35 in their last 51 overall and 7-19 in their last 26 versus a team with a winning record. St. Louis is 0-6 in their last six Monday games.
Meanwhile, the Cubs are 21-8 in the last 29 in game one of a series and the under is 37-16-4 in their last 57 at home. The under is 39-18-6 in the Cubs’ last 63 in game one of a series.
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’ll probably stay with the Cubs here. Stroman has been pitching well over his last pair and it’s just tough trusting St. Louis to do much of anything these days. That said, Mikolas hasn’t been too bad lately; he’s got six earned over his last 17.1 combined innings on 17 hits and four walks. As for the Cubs, on Sunday they took a tough loss but fought pretty well overall. I still think Chicago has the advantage in this week’s series.
