St. Louis Cardinals vs Chicago Cubs Prediction 7-28-23 MLB Picks

The Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals meet Friday in MLB action from Busch Stadium. This will be the second installment in a four-game weekend rivalry series. In the opener, the Cubs powered out a dominant win. Check back all season long for free MLB picks at Sports Chat Place.

Chicago Cubs 

The Cubs played the White Sox this week in a crosstown showdown, bagging wins in both games. On Thursday versus the Cardinals, Chicago bagged 14 team hits in a 10-3 win. Mike Tauchman posted a homer, three hits and two RBI. Yan Gomes added three RBI and two hits, while Dansby Swanson had two walks and two runs with an RBI. 

Hayden Wesneski will take the mound for the Cubs start Friday. This year Wesneski is 2-3 with a 4.75 ERA and 49 strikeouts. 

Chicago Cubs Team Facts

• The Cubs have won each of their last six games.
• The Cubs have covered the run line each of their last five games against teams that held a losing record.
• The Cubs have led after 7 innings in each of their last six games against opponents that held a losing record.
• The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Cubs’ last five night games against National League opponents.
• The Cubs have led after 5 innings in each of their last four games.

St. Louis Cardinals 

Over on the Cardinals’ side, they were able to win two of three games versus the Diamondbacks in their early-week series. On Thursday St. Louis’ Andrew Knizner had two homers and three RBI, but outside of Tyler O’Neill (three hits; walk) he’s about the only batter of note. All four of the Cardinals’ pitchers gave up at least one earned run in the blowout loss. 

Jordan Montgomery will take the starting role for the Cardinals on Friday. Across his 20 starts this year Montgomery is 6-8 with a 3.37 ERA and 105 Ks in 115.0 innings. Montgomery took a loss to the Cubs in his last start with five earned in 6.0 innings on six hits and two walks. 

St. Louis Cardinals Team Facts

• The Cardinals have won each of their last seven Friday home games against NL Central opponents.
• The Cardinals have failed to cover the run line in seven of their last eight games against NL Central opponents following a loss.
• The Cardinals have trailed after 7 innings in each of their last four games against NL Central opponents.
• The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the last four night games between the Cubs and Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

Matchup/League Facts

• The St. Louis Cardinals ranks 1st in the league for home runs allowed this season (100).
• The St. Louis Cardinals ranks 30th in the league for hits allowed this season (991).
• The Chicago Cubs ranks 3rd in the league for walks this season (370).
• The Chicago Cubs ranks 5th in the league for steals this season (87).

ANDREW’S FREE PICK 

I might take a stab on the Cardinals. Probably not going near it, though. St. Louis has a lot of work to do after losing three of four games when these teams met up last weekend at Wrigley. Montgomery pitched the finale in that one, giving up five runs in the third inning alone. The Cardinals gave up a combined 19 runs in their three losses last weekend, so defense and pitching are going to be crucial in this rematch. On Thursday St. Louis was down early and had a pretty miserable evening on both sides. The Cardinals have given up six or more runs in five of their last six games, so the pitching staff really needs to clean things up.