Chicago Cubs vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction, 10/2/2021 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Chicago Cubs vs St. Louis Cardinals

Date: Saturday, October 2, 2021

Location: Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO

TV: Bally Sports Midwest

Odds/Point Spread: Chicago (+145) St. Louis (-192)

Jon Lester and the St. Louis Cardinals (89-70, 2nd in NL Central) host the Chicago Cubs (69-90, 4th in NL Central) at Busch Stadium on Saturday. The Cubs open this matchup at +145 while the Cardinals are priced at -192. The total has been set at 8. The starting pitchers are Adrian Sampson and Jon Lester.

As a squad, the Chicago Cubs are notching 4.4 runs per game, which puts them at 21st in baseball. They have tallied 693 runs and have an OBP of .311. The Cubs have tallied 221 doubles as a squad and have hit 207 balls out of the stadium. They have tallied 660 RBI's and 1,232 base knocks on the year, and their team batting average sits at .236. Chicago is slugging .408 and have struck out 1,573 times, while drawing a walk on 490 occasions.

Get all of our MLB Picks Today

The Cubs are sitting with a team ERA of 4.91 over the course of the season (27th in the league), and their staff has rung up 1,337 hitters. Their K/BB ratio is 2.29 and their pitching staff holds a collective WHIP of 1.40. Cubs pitchers have yielded 231 home runs in addition to 828 total runs (28th in MLB). Their pitching staff has walked 585 opposing hitters and their FIP sits at 4.87 as a team so far this season.

Cubs pitchers have come into the game with players on base 168 times as well as having 170 appearances in high leverage situations. The bullpen have recorded 75 holds this season (16th in baseball). The Cubs relief pitchers have accumulated a save percentage of 69.6% and stepped onto the hill in 132 save situations. They have earned 39 saves for the year and have missed out on 17 of their 56 chances to save the game. The relievers have inherited 276 base runners on the year and 36.2% of them crossed home plate. The Cubs have sent 590 relief pitchers to the mound so far this year.

The Cubs have turned 69.1% of balls in play into outs in their 12,492 innings, which has them sitting 21st in professional baseball. The Chicago Cubs have a total of 4,164 putouts over the course of the season, as well as 1,530 assists and 85 errors. Their fielding rate is at .985 which ranks 15th in baseball, and they have turned 1,020 double plays.

Sampson has taken the hill for 184 innings and has 139 strikeouts during his career. Sampson (7-14 career mark) has earned a FIP of 5.82 while facing 807 opposing batters during his time in the major leagues. His ERA is 5.22 (107 earned runs allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.421. He has surrendered 215 base hits (10.5 hits per 9 innings) with 47 free passes.

The St. Louis Cardinals have accumulated an on-base percentage of .313 as well as a batting average of .243 over the course of the season. They have been rung up on 1,320 occasions (24th in MLB) and have 1,280 base hits. St. Louis has accumulated 194 long balls over the course of the season and 668 runs batted in. The Cardinals have a team slugging percentage of .411 and they are recording 4.37 runs per game (20th in the league). They have put up 258 two-baggers, while walking 467 times and putting up 695 runs.

The Cardinals hold a team WHIP of 1.298 in addition to having a FIP of 4.29 as a staff for the season. Their strikeout to walk ratio comes in at 2.02 (1,202 strikeouts vs 596 free passes). They are currently ranked 7th in baseball as a pitching staff in total hits surrendered with 1,211. They have allowed 149 home runs and they allow 4.27 runs per 9 innings (10th in the league). The St. Louis pitching staff have allowed 660 runs so far this year while holding an ERA of 3.97 (614 earned runs given up).

With 177 save situations, the Cardinals have compiled 106 holds in addition to 19 blown saves. St. Louis has had bullpen pitchers step onto the hill in 69 save chances and they have come away with 50 saves. Their relief pitchers have stepped onto the mound 159 times in high leverage situations and on 165 occasions with base runners. St. Louis relievers have an inherited score rate of 36.9% of 271 inherited base runners. They are ranked 1st in baseball with a save percentage of 72.5%, and they have dispatched 546 bullpen pitchers to the hill on the season.

Out of their 12,528 innings played, the Cardinals have earned a efficiency on defense of 71.4% (2nd in baseball). The St. Louis Cardinals have turned 133 double plays and hold a fielding percentage of .986 (13th in professional baseball). The Cardinals have recorded 1,476 assists, 83 errors and are sitting with 4,176 putouts for the season.

In his MLB career, Lester has surrendered 2,604 hits while earning 2,484 punch outs in 2,735 frames. Lester (200-117 career mark) has earned a 3.65 earned run average while surrendering 8.6 hits per 9 innings. He has given up 1,110 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 1.277 and a FIP of 3.8. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.80 and he has faced 11,463 opposing batters in his career.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Chicago (+145)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here