St. Louis Cardinals vs Chicago Cubs Predictions, MLB Picks, Betting Tips 8/17/2020

Game: St. Louis Cardinals vs Chicago Cubs

Date: Monday, August 17, 2020

Location: Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL

TV: MARQ/FSMW

Odds/Point Spread: Cardinals (-115) Cubs (+105)

Anthony Rizzo and the Chicago Cubs (13-5, 1st in NL Central) play the St. Louis Cardinals (4-3, 2nd in NL Central) at Wrigley Field on Monday. The Cardinals open this matchup at -115 while the Cubs are coming in at +105. The O/U is set at 9. The starting pitchers will be Jack Flaherty and Kyle Hendricks.

Key St. Louis Cardinals Injuries

8/16/2020 Lane Thomas CF Illness Expected to be out until at least Aug 24
8/16/2020 Ryan Helsley RP Illness Expected to be out until at least Aug 20
8/16/2020 Austin Dean LF Illness Expected to be out until at least Aug 20
8/14/2020 Edmundo Sosa 2B Illness Expected to be out until at least Aug 21
8/14/2020 Rangel Ravelo DH Illness Expected to be out until at least Aug 24
8/14/2020 Kodi Whitley RP Illness Expected to be out until at least Aug 21
8/14/2020 Yadier Molina C Illness Expected to be out until at least Aug 20
8/14/2020 Austin Gomber RP Not Injury Related Expected to be out until at least Aug 20

Key Chicago Cubs Injuries

8/15/2020 Tyler Chatwood SP Back Expected to be out until at least Aug 17
8/15/2020 Jose Quintana SP Thumb Expected to be out until at least Aug 19
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 4-3 overall record this season. Flaherty has thrown 375 innings and has tallied 439 punchouts so far in his career. His earned run average is 3.19 (133 earned runs allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.055. He has given up 272 hits (6.5 hits per nine innings) with 124 free passes. Flaherty (20-19 career record) has earned a FIP of 3.70 while he has faced 1,508 opposing batters in the majors. The bullpen has an earned run average of 1.48 and they have given up 9 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .103 against the bullpen and they've struck out 24 hitters and walked 5 batters. As a team, St. Louis allows 5.8 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.7 batters per nine innings. They are 3rd in the league in team earned run average at 3.47. The Cardinals pitchers collectively have given up 37 base hits and 22 earned runs. They have allowed 7 home runs this season, ranking them 30th in the league. St. Louis as a pitching staff has walked 14 batters and struck out 55. They have walked 2.2 men per 9 innings while striking out 8.7 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 0.90 and their FIP as a unit is 3.65.

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Hitting Statistics

As a team St. Louis is hitting .238, good for 19th in the league. The Cardinals hold a .402 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .305, which is good for 24th in baseball. They rank 23rd in MLB with 7.3 hits per game. Matt Carpenter is hitting .182 with an on-base percentage of .280. He has 4 hits this season in 22 at bats with 4 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .227 and an OPS+ of 45. Tommy Edman is hitting .231 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .310. He has totaled 6 hits and he has driven in 4 men in 26 at bats. His OPS+ is 112 while his slugging percentage is at .462. The Cardinals have 51 hits, including 7 doubles and 8 home runs. St. Louis has walked 15 times so far this season and they have struck out 56 times as a unit. They have left 36 men on base and have a team OPS of .707. They score 4.14 runs per contest and have scored a total of 29 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

During his career, Hendricks has surrendered 882 base knocks while tallying 838 punchouts in 992 innings pitched. He has conceded a total of 346 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.111 and having a FIP of 3.5. His SO/W ratio is 3.81 and he has faced 4,020 hitters in his pro baseball career. Hendricks (66-44 win-loss mark in his career) holds a 3.14 ERA while allowing 8.0 hits per nine innings. The bullpen has an earned run average of 5.71 and they have given up 51 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .195 against the Cubs bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 58 batters and walked 34 opposing hitters. As a team, Chicago allows 7 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.3 batters per nine innings. They are 8th in the league in team earned run average at 3.92. The Cubs pitchers as a team have surrendered 127 base knocks and 71 earned runs this season. They have given up 18 home runs this year, which ranks 28th in Major League Baseball. Chicago as a staff has walked 54 hitters and struck out 151 batters. They give up a walk 3 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 3.90.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .241, good for 15th in the league. The Cubs hold a .424 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .340, which is good for 4th in baseball. They rank 16th in MLB with 8.0 hits per contest. Anthony Rizzo comes into this matchup batting .254 with an OBP of .405. He has 16 hits this year along with 9 RBI in 63 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .508 with an OPS+ of 149. Willson Contreras is hitting .241 this season and he has an OBP of .318. He has collected 14 hits in 58 at bats while driving in 7 runs. He has an OPS+ of 104 and a slugging percentage of .431. The Cubs as a unit have 144 base hits, including 32 doubles and 25 homers. Chicago has walked 73 times this year and they have struck out on 187 occasions. They have had 129 men left on base and have an OPS of .763. They have scored 5.06 runs per game and totaled 91 runs this season.

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

Guy's Pick: Take the Cubs (+105)

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