Chicago Cubs vs St. Louis Cardinals Predictions, MLB Picks, Betting Tips 8/7/2020

Game: Chicago Cubs vs St. Louis Cardinals

Date: Friday, August 7, 2020

Location: Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO

TV: MARQ/FSMW

Odds/Point Spread: Cubs (+130) Cardinals (-150)

Kyle Schwarber and the Chicago Cubs (10-2, 1st in NL Central) are headed to Busch Stadium on Friday where they'll take on the St. Louis Cardinals (2-3, 4th in NL Central). The Cardinals open this matchup at -150 while the Cubs are priced at +130. The O/U opens at 7.5. The starting pitchers will be Jon Lester and Jack Flaherty.

Key Chicago Cubs Injuries

8/6/2020 Brad Wieck RP Hamstring Expected to be out until at least Aug 6
8/2/2020 James Norwood RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Aug 11
8/2/2020 Jose Quintana SP Thumb Expected to be out until at least Aug 14
7/23/2020 Daniel Descalso 2B Ankle Expected to be out until at least Sep 5

Key St. Louis Cardinals Injuries

8/5/2020 Rangel Ravelo DH Illness Expected to be out until at least Aug 11
8/4/2020 Yadier Molina C Illness Expected to be out until at least Aug 11
8/4/2020 Paul DeJong SS Illness Expected to be out until at least Aug 11
8/4/2020 Kodi Whitley RP Illness Expected to be out until at least Aug 11
8/4/2020 Junior Fernandez RP Illness Expected to be out until at least Aug 11
8/4/2020 Edmundo Sosa 2B Illness Expected to be out until at least Aug 11
8/4/2020 Carlos Martinez SP Undisclosed Expected to be out until at least Aug 17
7/28/2020 Miles Mikolas SP Forearm Out for the season
6/28/2020 John Brebbia RP Elbow Out for the season

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Cubs have a 10-2 overall record this season. Lester (191-108 career record) is the owner of a FIP of 3.74 and he has gone up against 10,637 batters in the majors. His earned run average is 3.55 (1,006 ER's allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.261. He has surrendered 2,391 base hits (8.4 hits per 9 innings) and has 822 free passes. Lester has thrown 2,548 innings and has accounted for 2,360 strikeouts in his pro baseball career. The bullpen has an earned run average of 7.20 and they have given up 33 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .204 against the bullpen and they've struck out 37 hitters and walked 23 batters. As a team, Chicago allows 6.4 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.2 batters per nine innings. They are 11th in the league in team earned run average at 3.63. The Cubs pitchers collectively have given up 78 base hits and 44 earned runs. They have allowed 13 home runs this season, ranking them 16th in the league. Chicago as a pitching staff has walked 38 batters and struck out 99. They have walked 3.1 men per 9 innings while striking out 8.2 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.06 and their FIP as a unit is 3.93.

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Hitting Statistics

As a team Chicago is hitting .241, good for 10th in the league. The Cubs hold a .441 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .336, which is good for 6th in baseball. They rank 12th in MLB with 7.9 hits per game. Kyle Schwarber is hitting .214 with an on-base percentage of .327. He has 9 hits this season in 42 at bats with 6 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .405 and an OPS+ of 105. Ian Happ is hitting .294 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .400. He has totaled 10 hits and he has driven in 6 men in 34 at bats. His OPS+ is 190 while his slugging percentage is at .647. The Cubs have 95 hits, including 20 doubles and 19 home runs. Chicago has walked 45 times so far this season and they have struck out 121 times as a unit. They have left 82 men on base and have a team OPS of .777. They score 5.25 runs per contest and have scored a total of 63 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

So far in his MLB career, Flaherty has surrendered 272 hits while totaling 439 strikeouts in 375 innings pitched. He has given up a total of 133 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 1.055 and having a FIP of 3.7. His strikeout to walk ratio is 3.54 and he has faced 1,508 hitters so far in his pro baseball career. Flaherty (20-19 career record) has a 3.19 earned run average while conceding 6.5 hits per 9 innings. The bullpen has an earned run average of 0.98 and they have given up 6 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .094 against the Cardinals bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 12 batters and walked 3 opposing hitters. As a team, St. Louis allows 6.5 hits per nine innings while striking out 7.7 batters per nine innings. They are 13th in the league in team earned run average at 3.77. The Cardinals pitchers as a team have surrendered 31 base knocks and 18 earned runs this season. They have given up 5 home runs this year, which ranks 30th in Major League Baseball. St. Louis as a staff has walked 9 hitters and struck out 37 batters. They give up a walk 1.9 times per 9 innings while they strike out 7.7 per 9. Their team WHIP is 0.93 while their FIP as a staff is 3.55.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .217, good for 21st in the league. The Cardinals hold a .382 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .281, which is good for 26th in baseball. They rank 22nd in MLB with 6.8 hits per contest. Dexter Fowler comes into this matchup batting .250 with an OBP of .294. He has 4 hits this year along with 2 RBI in 16 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .438 with an OPS+ of 106. Tommy Edman is hitting .250 this season and he has an OBP of .286. He has collected 5 hits in 20 at bats while driving in 4 runs. He has an OPS+ of 132 and a slugging percentage of .550. The Cardinals as a unit have 34 base hits, including 4 doubles and 6 homers. St. Louis has walked 11 times this year and they have struck out on 44 occasions. They have had 24 men left on base and have an OPS of .663. They have scored 3.6 runs per game and totaled 18 runs this season.

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

Guy's Pick: Take the Cardinals (-150)

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