Michael Wacha (9-3, 2.85 ERA) and the St. Louis Cardinals (49-24) meet Tsuyoshi Wada (1-1, 3.73 ERA) and the Chicago Cubs (39-33) in the second of a three-game division series at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals won the last game 3-2 and St. Louis leads the series 1-0. The game starts at 7:15 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jun. 27 and will air on FOX.
Wacha is 2-1 with a 3.20 ERA, 26 strikeouts and seven walks against the Cubs in his career. In his career against the Cardinals, Wada is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, and three strikeouts. Kris Bryant (.277, 40 Rs, 10 HRs, 43 RBIs, 6 SBs) went 1 for 4 yesterday with one RBI.
Oddsmakers have deemed this game an even matchup and the Over/Under (O/U) is currently unavailable. Against teams in the NL Central, the Cardinals have an SU record of 19-8. St. Louis’s pitching staff can be considered for best in its league, with an NL-low 2.67 team ERA. An area where the Cardinals are particularly strong is striking batters out, where they average 8.0 K’s per game.
Against fellow NL Central members, the Cubs are 17-14 SU. They have a WHIP of 1.19, third best in the MLB. They also have some of the most overpowering arms in baseball with an NL-high 8.7 strikeouts per game.
The Cardinals have gotten the best of the Cubs in head-to-head matchups this season, going 5-2. This game will feature Wada (LHP) on the mound against the Cardinals, who have a 7-9 record when they take on a left-handed starter. Taking the hill against the Cubs will be the right-hander Wacha. They sport a 33-28 record against righties.
Predictions: SU Winner – STL
Notes
In their last game, the Cubs lost by a margin of one run. The Cardinals are 16-11 in one-run games. The Cubs have an 18-13 record in close games.
The Cubs are 9-4 in games that go into extra innings. Meanwhile, the Cardinals are 6-3 in such matchups.
The Cubs managed to give up four walks in their last game. They’ll have to pick it up against the Cardinals who are heading in with an 18-10 record against opponents who give up that many walks or more.
When they are outhit, the Cubs are 7-25. The Cardinals have a 12-16 record when opponents outhit them.
Ranking 21st in home runs, St. Louis has hit 61 this season. Chicago ranks 12th with 71 home runs.
Ranking 10th, Chicago is in the top 10 of the league in hits, notching 8.38 per game. St. Louis ranks in the top five at fourth with 8.96.
Ranking 17th, Chicago is in the bottom half of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.710). St. Louis ranks in the top 10 at 10th with an OPS of .730.
When the Cubs allow at least one home run, they are 22-23. When the Cardinals allow one or more homers, they have a 22-16 record.
