Lance Lynn (1-2, 3.07 ERA) and Jon Lester (1-2, 4.71 ERA) are on the hill in the third of a four-game series between the St. Louis Cardinals (20-6) and the Chicago Cubs (13-12) at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals won the last game 7-4, continuing an eight-game winning streak. Action begins at 8:15 p.m. ET on Wednesday, May. 6 and can be seen on CSN-CHI and FSN-MW.
Lynn is 6-4 with a 3.03 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and 66 strikeouts against the Cubs. Matt Holliday (.345, 14 Rs, 1 HR, 14 RBIs, 2 SBs) continued his strong play yesterday, going 3 for 5. Lester is 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA against the Cardinals in his career. He takes on a quality St. Louis offense that’s batting .273. Anthony Rizzo (.333, 21 Rs, 4 HRs, 12 RBIs, 7 SBs) has been successful at the plate for the Cubs, going 3 for 4 yesterday with two runs.
St. Louis is a -119 favorite against Chicago and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at seven runs. The Cardinals have recorded an overall money line of +1,278 and have shown high-level performance as a favorite this season with a record of 17-4. St. Louis is an impressive 8-2 as the favorite over its last 10 games. The Cardinals have no trouble scoring as they rank second in the NL in home offense with 4.9 runs per game. The Cardinals are one of the best in the NL in terms of hits at home with a phenomenal 9.2 per game. As for the pitchers, opposing offenses have been stifled by the Cardinals, who have a team ERA of only 2.44.
In games where it is the underdog, Chicago has a 6-5 record and an overall money line of -90. They are 4-4 as the underdog against teams in their division, and 10-9 SU. The Cubs are tough outs for opponents, leading the NL with 9.5 hits per road game. The Cubs are an excellent base stealing team with 28 stolen bases, ranking third in the MLB.
The Cardinals lead the season series, 3-1. Lynn (RHP) will be on the hill against the Cubs, who have an 11-9 record against right-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – STL, O/U – Over
Notes
Chicago has won 45% (5-6) of its games when leading after 7 innings. However, St. Louis has won 73% (8-3) of its games when taking a late lead.
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 7-4 record against opponents who give up that many walks or more.
The Cardinals are coming into the game with eight consecutive wins, while the Cubs currently have a losing streak of four.
When they outhit their opponents, the Cardinals are 13-5. The Cubs have an 8-2 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 16th in runs, Chicago has earned 107 this season. St. Louis ranks 12th with 116 runs.
Both St. Louis and Chicago are tied at eighth in walks with a total of 90 this season.
The Cardinals are 11-2 when they hit at least one home run. The Cubs perform similarly when they hit one or more homers with a 9-3 record.
