The Chicago Cubs have put together back-to-back wins over one of their biggest rivals. Now they will look to complete the sweep in front of a national audience on Sunday Night Baseball. The defending World Series champions had dropped six in a row including a brutal three-game sweep at the hands of the San Diego Padres before pumping the brakes on that slide to open the month of June.
The Cardinals have themselves been struggling over the past couple of weeks. They are 3-7 in their last 10 games, so the sweep is not an unrealistic expectation for the hometown fans heading in to Sunday night’s tilt at Wrigley Field.
Details
Date: Sunday June 4th, 2017
Time: 7:30 PM ET
Line: Chicago -140
Why The Cardinals Might Win…
Just when it seemed as though St. Louis had reached the point when it’s season was on track they have run in to another hurdle. The Cardinals had won six in a row and eight of nine before a 4-12 slide that has them a game below .500 heading in to Sunday night’s tilt.
The St. Louis pitching staff has performed at a high level this season with the fourth-best combined ERA in the majors. Michael Wacha is 2-3 with a 3.99 ERA and he will need to be at his best if the Cardinals are going to bounce back and steal one on the road on Sunday night.
The club’s bats must also figure out a way to get going. The Cardinals rank 25th in the majors in runs scored so far this season, which has put way too much pressure on their arms. Kyle Hendricks is coming off his worst start of the season for Chicago, so St. Louis will need to take advantage.
Why The Cubs Might Win…
Hendricks allowed five earned runs in just 6.0 innings of work in a 5-2 loss to the Padres in his last start. However, Hendricks has been pretty good this season at 4-3 with a 3.75 ERA. Hendricks could end up picking up another win if he delivers a bounce-back performance on Sunday night. The Cubs rallied back in Saturday’s matchup on the strength of a grand slam from Kyle Schwarber. Chicago’s bats haven’t lived up to expectation but perhaps they are on the cusp of breaking through. The Cubs have averaged four runs in their first two wins over St. Louis in this series. If they can continue to put up decent numbers at the plate then it could be enough to wrap up the series sweep on Sunday night.
Outlook
The Cardinals have looked awful at times during their recent slide and there isn’t much reason to expect them to bounce back on Sunday night. Wacha has been good this year but he will be on the road pitching under the bright lights against one of the most talented lineups in the majors. The challenge is that his home-away splits are not encouraging.
At home this season, Wacha is 2-1 with a 2.94 ERA and he’s holding opposing batters to a .235 average. He has a respectable 1.17 WHIP in that span. On the road, though, is another story. Wacha is 0-2 in away games with a 6.19 ERA. Opposing batters are hitting a whopping .323 against him on the road and his WHIP climbs to 1.69 when he’s not at home. That’s concerning.
Hendricks is coming off a rough outing (five earned runs in five innings of work at San Diego) but prior to that, he had been very solid in the month of May. He had given up just six earned runs in his four previous starts. Look for him to get back on track
It’s only a matter of time before the Cubs get going at the plate and we have certainly seen flashes of their potential in the first two games of this series. Hendricks has been pretty good overall so far this season. Another quality start from Hendricks should be enough for Chicago to pick up the victory on Sunday night. It’s a little bit more than we’d like to lay but we do like the Cubs in this spot. If you don’t like the juice, consider betting the under. It should be a low-scoring affair.
Pick: Chicago -160
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