This game could be low scoring as Carlos Martinez (3-0, 1.73 ERA) and the St. Louis Cardinals (18-6) meet Travis Wood (2-1, 3.04 ERA) and the Chicago Cubs (13-10) in the first of a four-game series at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals enter this series on a six-game winning streak. The game gets underway at 8:10 p.m. ET on Monday, May. 4 and will air on CSN-CHI, FSN-MW and ESPN.
Martinez is 0-0 with a 2.61 ERA, eight strikeouts and four walks against the Cubs in his career. Matt Carpenter (.365, 22 Rs, 4 HRs, 16 RBIs) went 1 for 3 yesterday with one run, one home run, and one RBI. In his pitching opportunities against the Cardinals, Wood is 5-6 with a 5.18 ERA. He meets a solid St. Louis offense that’s batting .267. Miguel Montero (.283, 5 Rs, 3 HRs, 10 RBIs) has been doing well, going 2 for 3 yesterday with one run.
St. Louis is a -128 favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at seven runs. The Cardinals have a winning record of 14-4 when playing as the favorite and an overall money line of +978. They are 7-2 as the favorite over their last 10 games. The Cardinals seem to play worse against their division opponents. In divisional matchups, St. Louis has only averaged 3.6 runs per game compared to its 4.2 season average. Transitioning to the pitching staff, the Cardinals lead the NL in ERA with a 2.28 team average. The Cardinals are third in the league in WHIP at 1.12.
Moving on to the away team, the Cubs come into this game with a solid win percentage of .667 when playing as the underdog (6-3) and an overall money line of +110. Against fellow NL Central members, they are 10-7 SU and have played well as the underdog with a 4-2 record. One of the top road hitting teams in the NL are the Cubs, who average 9.2 hits in games away from home. The Cubs have racked up 26 steals on the year, making them one of the most threatening base-running teams in the league. Chicago’s pitching staff tends to perform well when they play division rivals. They’ve allowed an average of 3.4 runs per game against teams from the NL Central, lower than their season average of 3.8.
Taking the hill against the Cubs will be the right-hander Martinez. They sport an 11-8 record against righties.
Predictions: SU Winner – STL, O/U – Over
Notes
For the sixth time this season, the Cubs registered at least two errors in a game.
The Cubs are 4-0 in games that go into extra innings. Meanwhile, the Cardinals are 4-1 in such matchups.
The Cubs are coming into this game after allowing two walks during their last outing. The Cardinals have a 7-0 record when opponents give up that many walks or fewer.
When they are outhit, the Cubs are 3-8. The Cardinals have a 3-1 record when opponents outhit them.
St. Louis ranks near the bottom of the league at 25th when it comes to home runs, hitting 16 this season. Chicago ranks in the bottom half at 20th with 18.
Ranking eighth, Chicago is in the top 10 of the league in hits, notching 8.45 per game. St. Louis ranks in the top five at third with 9.13.
Ranking 16th, Chicago is in the bottom half of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.702). St. Louis ranks in the top 10 at 10th with an OPS of .726.
The Cubs are 6-7 in games where they allow one or more home runs. The Cardinals are 7-3 when they allow at least one homer.
