Jason Hammel (5-1, 2.31 ERA) is on the hill for the Chicago Cubs (29-14) as they square off against Michael Wacha (2-4, 4.03 ERA) and the St. Louis Cardinals (24-21) in the second of a three-game series at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals won the last game 4-3, and St. Louis leads the series 1-0. Action begins at 7:10 p.m. ET on Tuesday, May. 24 and can be seen on CSCh, FSMW and ESPN.
Wacha pitched 4.0 innings in his last outing, surrendering six runs, striking out four and walking one in a 13-7 win over the Rockies. Hammel went 6.0 innings, surrendering four runs, striking out seven and walking two in a 5-3 defeat to the Brewers in his most recent start. Dexter Fowler (.314, 30 Rs, 5 HRs, 21 RBIs, 6 SBs) went 1 for 4 yesterday.
The odds for St. Louis and Chicago are even, while the Over/Under (O/U) is currently unavailable. Within its division, St. Louis has a record of 16-6 SU. The Cardinals have seen an uptick in scoring as of late, averaging 0.0 runs during the last 10 games compared to their season average of 0.0 runs per game. The Cardinals are one of the best in the MLB in terms of home runs with 61. St. Louis’s pitching staff has been doing better against opposing offenses during the last 10 games, only allowing an average of 0.0 runs per game, well under their season average of 0.0.
The Cubs are 7-9 against teams in their division. Offensively, they average 0.0 runs per game, which is good for third in the NL. Chicago is excellent at drawing walks with an NL-best 4.9 per game. Shifting to the pitching staff and defense, the Cubs allow just two runs per road game, ranking them first in the NL. When it comes to preventing batters from getting on base, the Cubs are the best in the league with a WHIP of 1.058 for the season.
Predictions: SU Winner – STL
Notes
In their last game, the Cubs lost by a margin of one run. The Cardinals are 3-5 in one-run games. The Cubs have a 5-6 record in close games.
The Cardinals managed to give up four walks in their last game. They’ll have to pick it up against the Cubs who are coming in with a 24-9 record against opponents who give up that many walks or more.
When they are outhit, the Cubs are 2-10. The Cardinals have a 4-18 record when opponents outhit them.
Ranking 11th in home runs, Chicago has hit 50 this season. St. Louis ranks fourth with 61 home runs.
St. Louis and Chicago both rank in the top 10 of the league in hits. St. Louis sits at sixth with 9.27 hits per game and Chicago ranks 10th with 8.65.
St. Louis and Chicago both rank in the top five of the league for their on-base plus slugging percentage. St. Louis sits at second with an OPS of .807, and Chicago ranks fourth with an OPS of .778.
When the Cubs allow at least one home run, they are 12-10. When the Cardinals allow one or more homers, they have a 13-15 record.
