Michael Wacha (15-4, 2.69 ERA) and the St. Louis Cardinals (87-50) meet Jason Hammel (7-6, 3.55 ERA) and the Chicago Cubs (79-57) in the second of a three-game division series at Busch Stadium. The Cubs won the last game 9-0 and Chicago leads the series 1-0. The game gets underway at 8:15 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Sep. 8 and will air on CSCh and FSMW.
In his last start, Wacha pitched 6.0 innings, allowing zero runs (four unearned), striking out six and walking two in a 5-4 loss to the Giants. The Cubs were unsuccessful to the Reds 7-4 the last time Hammel pitched. He went 5.0 innings, allowing four runs and striking out four. Anthony Rizzo (.283, 79 Rs, 28 HRs, 84 RBIs, 15 SBs) went 1 for 3 yesterday with one run and one RBI.
St. Louis is a -162 favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at seven runs. The Cardinals have a winning record of 73-31 when playing as the favorite and an overall money line of +2,723. Over the last 10 games, they have a very good record when playing as the favorite (5-2). St. Louis’s pitching staff can be considered for best in its league, with an NL-low 2.72 team ERA. The Cardinals don’t give up many hits to opposing batters, ranking fourth in the NL with only 8.4 hits allowed per game. An area where the Cardinals are particularly strong is striking batters out, where they average 8.1 K’s per game.
Across the field, the Cubs have a record of 20-24 when they are the underdog and are +884 overall with the money line. Over the last 10 games, they were winless as the underdog with a 0-2 record and 5-5 SU. The Cubs average 3.5 walks per game, making them the most disciplined team in the NL. The Cubs are a problem for opposing batters, sporting a 3.61 ERA on the road this season. They have a WHIP of 1.20 on the year, good for fifth in the league. They also have some of the most overpowering arms in baseball with an NL-high 8.7 strikeouts per game.
The Cardinals have mostly come out on top against the Cubs in their previous 14 games this season, earning a 9-5 record. The Cardinals will take on a right-hander (Hammel) in this game. They have done very well against right-handed starting pitchers this season (68-33), especially at home where they have a 40-13 record. Taking the hill against the Cubs will be the right-hander Wacha. They sport a 62-44 record against righties.
Predictions: SU Winner – StL, O/U – Over
Notes
Chicago won its last game in a shutout, its 17th of the season. St. Louis has been shut out 11 times this season.
Having scored zero runs in their last game, the Cardinals are going to have to up their game if they want to win this matchup. The Cubs have a 17-0 record in games where opponents scored that many runs.
It looks like the Cubs have a slight leg up on the Cardinals, as the Cubs have won their last four games while the Cardinals have lost their last two.
When they outhit their opponents, the Cardinals are 53-15. The Cubs have a 51-8 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 22nd in runs, St. Louis has earned 551 this season. Chicago ranks 15th with 573 runs.
Ranking first in walks, Chicago has earned 471 this season. St. Louis ranks eighth with 421 walks.
The Cardinals are 57-21 when they hit at least one home run. The Cubs perform similarly when they hit one or more homers with a 55-25 record.
