St. Louis Cardinals vs Chicago Cubs Prediction, 8/19/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: St. Louis Cardinals vs Chicago Cubs

Date: Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Location: Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL

TV: MARQ/FSMW

Odds/Point Spread: Cardinals (-104) Cubs (-116)

Ian Happ and the Chicago Cubs (14-7, 1st in NL Central) play the St. Louis Cardinals (5-5, 3rd in NL Central) at Wrigley Field on Wednesday. The Cubs open this game at -116 while the Cardinals are priced at -104. The total is set at 9. The expected starting pitchers will be Jack Flaherty and Alec Mills.

Key St. Louis Cardinals Injuries

8/17/2020 Carlos Martinez SP Not Injury Related Expected to be out until at least Aug 24
8/16/2020 Lane Thomas CF Illness Expected to be out until at least Aug 23
8/16/2020 Ryan Helsley RP Illness Expected to be out until at least Aug 23
8/16/2020 Austin Dean LF Illness Expected to be out until at least Aug 23
8/14/2020 Yadier Molina C Illness Expected to be out until at least Aug 20
8/14/2020 Kodi Whitley RP Illness Expected to be out until at least Aug 21

Key Chicago Cubs Injuries

8/18/2020 Steven Souza RF Hamstring Probable for Aug 18
8/16/2020 Jose Quintana SP Thumb Expected to be out until at least Aug 21
8/16/2020 Tyler Chatwood SP Back Expected to be out until at least Aug 25
8/15/2020 Brad Wieck RP Hamstring Expected to be out until at least Aug 28
8/14/2020 James Norwood RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Aug 19
7/23/2020 Daniel Descalso 2B Ankle Expected to be out until at least Sep 5

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Cardinals have a 5-5 overall record this season. Flaherty (20-19 mark in his career) sits with a FIP of 3.70 while he has gone up against 1,508 batters in the major leagues. His earned run average is 3.19 (133 ER's allowed) and his WHIP is 1.055. He has conceded 272 hits (6.5 hits per nine innings) and has 124 walks. Flaherty has taken the hill for 375 innings and has accounted for 439 strikeouts thus far in his career. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.35 and they have given up 18 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .126 against the bullpen and they've struck out 45 hitters and walked 12 batters. As a team, St. Louis allows 5.8 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.3 batters per nine innings. They are 6th in the league in team earned run average at 3.87. The Cardinals pitchers collectively have given up 51 base hits and 34 earned runs. They have allowed 13 home runs this season, ranking them 30th in the league. St. Louis as a pitching staff has walked 28 batters and struck out 82. They have walked 3.2 men per 9 innings while striking out 9.3 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.00 and their FIP as a unit is 4.36.

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Hitting Statistics

As a team St. Louis is hitting .222, good for 25th in the league. The Cardinals hold a .387 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .291, which is good for 29th in baseball. They rank 29th in MLB with 6.6 hits per game. Dexter Fowler is hitting .308 with an on-base percentage of .333. He has 8 hits this season in 26 at bats with 5 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .538 and an OPS+ of 127. Paul Goldschmidt is hitting .314 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .385. He has totaled 11 hits and he has driven in 3 men in 35 at bats. His OPS+ is 137 while his slugging percentage is at .514. The Cardinals have 66 hits, including 9 doubles and 12 home runs. St. Louis has walked 23 times so far this season and they have struck out 72 times as a unit. They have left 49 men on base and have a team OPS of .678. They score 3.8 runs per contest and have scored a total of 38 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

During his pro baseball career, Mills has surrendered 55 base hits while he has accumulated 83 K's in 76 innings. He has given up 30 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.104 and being the owner of a FIP of 3.9. His SO/W ratio is 2.86 and he has gone up against 314 batters during his pro baseball career. Mills (3-2 mark in his career) holds a 3.55 ERA while giving up 6.5 hits per 9 innings. The bullpen has an earned run average of 5.37 and they have given up 59 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .201 against the Cubs bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 68 batters and walked 35 opposing hitters. As a team, Chicago allows 7.2 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.3 batters per nine innings. They are 11th in the league in team earned run average at 4.06. The Cubs pitchers as a team have surrendered 148 base knocks and 84 earned runs this season. They have given up 24 home runs this year, which ranks 25th in Major League Baseball. Chicago as a staff has walked 59 hitters and struck out 171 batters. They give up a walk 2.9 times per 9 innings while they strike out 8.3 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.11 while their FIP as a staff is 4.07.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .229, good for 22nd in the league. The Cubs hold a .406 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .336, which is good for 5th in baseball. They rank 25th in MLB with 7.3 hits per contest. Ian Happ comes into this matchup batting .297 with an OBP of .416. He has 19 hits this year along with 12 RBI in 64 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .578 with an OPS+ of 168. Kyle Schwarber is hitting .227 this season and he has an OBP of .354. He has collected 15 hits in 66 at bats while driving in 8 runs. He has an OPS+ of 108 and a slugging percentage of .409. The Cubs as a unit have 154 base hits, including 36 doubles and 27 homers. Chicago has walked 89 times this year and they have struck out on 220 occasions. They have had 144 men left on base and have an OPS of .742. They have scored 4.86 runs per game and totaled 102 runs this season.

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

Guy's Pick: Take the Cardinals (-104)

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