Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Busch Stadium

Get todays MLB odds and lines on this game.

Probable Pitchers: John Lackey vs. Lance Lynn

The Chicago Cubs travel to Busch Stadium on Wednesday, April 5, 2017 to matchup against the St. Louis Cardinals. The probable pitchers are John Lackey for the Cubs and Lance Lynn for the Cardinals.

The opening line for this matchup has Chicago at -130 and St. Louis at +120. The Cubs had a 75-79-8 over/under record and a 87-75-0 run line mark last season, meaning they covered 54% of the time. The Cardinals were 75-87-0 against the run line and had a 83-73-6 over/under record. They covered the spread 46% of the time.

Valuable Chicago Cubs Betting Trends

The Chicago Cubs were 75-79-8 against the over/under last season

The Chicago Cubs were 87-75-0 against the run line last season

Important St. Louis Cardinals Betting Trends

The St. Louis Cardinals were 83-73-6 against the over/under last season

The St. Louis Cardinals were 75-87-0 against the run line last season

Key Chicago Cubs Injuries

04/01/17 P Brian Duensing Back 10-day DL (3/30)

Key St. Louis Cardinals Injuries

04/03/17 P John Gant Undisclosed 10-day DL (3/30)
04/01/17 P Trevor Rosentha Leg 10-day DL (3/30)
03/31/17 P Tyler Lyons Knee 10-day DL (3/30)
02/20/17 P Alex Reyes Elbow 10-day DL (3/30); out for season

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Cubs are coming off a 103-58 record in 2016, including 46-34 on the road. Starting pitcher John Lackey had a 11-8 record with an earned run average of 3.35 and a WHIP of 1.06. He had 180 strikeouts over his 188.1 innings pitched and he gave up 146 hits last season. He allowed 7 hits per 9 innings and he had a FIP of 3.81. The bullpen last year had an earned run average of 3.50 and they gave up 365 base hits on the year. Teams hit .208 against the bullpen while being struck out 519 times and walking 199 times last season. As a team, Chicago allowed 6.92 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.88 batters per nine innings. They were 1st in the league in team earned run average at 3.13. The Cubs pitchers collectively gave up 1,125 base hits and 511 earned runs. They allowed 163 home runs last season and they allowed 1.1 homers per nine innings as a staff. Chicago as a pitching staff walked 495 batters and struck out 1,441. They walked 3.1 men per 9 innings while striking out 8.9 per 9. They had a team WHIP of 1.11 and their FIP as a unit was 3.77.

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Hitting Statistics

As a team Chicago batted .256, good for 14th in the league while putting together a .258 average away from home. The Cubs held a .429 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .343 which was good for 2nd in baseball. They ranked 18th in baseball with 8.7 hits per game. Anthony Rizzo is coming off a 2016 season in which he hit .292 with an on-base percentage of .385. He had 170 hits last season along with 94 runs scored and 109 runs batted in. He struck out 108 times and walked 74 times. Kris Bryant hit .292 last year and he had an on-base percentage of .385. He totaled 176 hits while scoring 121 runs and he drove in 102. He walked 75 times and struck out on 154 occasions. The Cubs had 1,409 hits, including 293 doubles and 199 home runs. They stole 66 bases and were thrown out stealing 34 times. Chicago walked 656 times last season and they struck out 1,339 times as a unit. They left 1,217 men on base and had a team OPS of .772. They scored 4.99 runs per contest and scored a total of 808 runs last year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

St. Louis had a 38-43 home record and a 86-76 overall mark in 2016. Lance Lynn is pitching for the 1st time since 2015, as he missed the entire season last year due to injury. Last season the bullpen had an earned run average of 3.62 and they gave up 443 base hits on the year. Teams hit .227 against the Cardinals bullpen while being struck out 506 times and walking 190 times last season. As a team, St. Louis allowed 8.9 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.02 batters per nine innings. They were 12th in the league in team earned run average at 4.08. The Cardinals pitchers as a team surrendered 1,432 base knocks and 656 earned runs last season. They gave up 159 home runs last year and they gave up 1.1 home runs per nine innings as a staff. St. Louis as a staff walked 475 hitters and struck out 1,290. They gave up a walk 3 times per 9 innings while they struck out 8 per 9. Their team WHIP was 1.32 while their FIP as a staff was 3.88.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they batted .255, good for 18th in the league while putting together a .253 average at home. The Cardinals held a .442 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .325 which was good for 11th in baseball. They ranked 13th in baseball with 8.73 hits per contest. Stephen Piscotty comes into this matchup after batting .273 with an OBP of .343. He had 159 hits last year along with 86 runs scored and 85 RBI. He struck out 133 times and walked on 51 occasions. Matt Carpenter hit .271 in 2016 and he had an OBP of .380. He collected 128 hits while scoring 81 runs and driving in 68. He earned a walk 81 times and punched out 108 times. The Cardinals as a unit had 1,416 base hits, including 300 doubles and 225 homers. They had 35 stolen bases and were thrown out 26 times. St. Louis as a team walked 526 times last year and they struck out 1,318 times. They had 1,113 men left on base and had an OPS of .768. They scored 4.81 runs per game and totaled 779 runs last season.

Who will win tonight's Cubs/Cardinals MLB game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take the Cubs -130

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