St. Louis Cardinals vs Chicago Cubs Prediction, 8/1/2024 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: St. Louis Cardinals vs Chicago Cubs

Date: Thursday, August 1, 2024

Location: Wrigley Field in Chicago, IL

TV: Bally Sports Midwest

The Chicago Cubs (51-58) will try to beat the St. Louis Cardinals (55-52) at Wrigley Field on Thursday. The starting pitchers are Sonny Gray and Shota Imanaga.

As a unit, the St. Louis Cardinals are scoring 4.2 runs per game, which has them at 23rd in baseball. They are sitting with 444 runs while having a team OBP of .309. The Cardinals have tallied 156 doubles as a squad and have hit 112 balls out of the park. They have recorded 419 RBI's as well as 890 hits on the season, while their batting average is at .245. St. Louis has a slugging percentage of .388 and have struck out 893 times, while being walked on 308 occasions.

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The Cardinals have a team earned run average of 4.07 for the year (18th in the league), and the staff has rung up 859 hitters. Cardinals pitchers have allowed 114 home runs and 488 runs (19th in baseball). Their pitching staff has walked 304 opposing players and their FIP comes in at 3.95 as a unit this season. St. Louis has conceded 915 base hits (8.6 per 9 innings) and 432 earned runs. They have a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.83 and their pitching staff has a collective WHIP of 1.28.

Cardinals relief pitchers have entered the contest with opponents on base 109 times in addition to having 124 appearances in high leverage situations. The bullpen have recorded 79 holds this year (3rd in the league). The Cardinals relief pitchers have earned a save rate of 69.8% and has come into the game in 132 save situations. They have earned 37 saves on the season and have not converted 16 of their 53 save chances. The relief pitchers have inherited 151 base runners this season and 37.1% of those players crossed the plate. The Cardinals have dispatched 341 relievers to the hill this year.

The St. Louis Cardinals have 2,868 putouts this year, in addition to 992 assists and 49 errors. Their fielding percentage sits at .987 which ranks 4th in MLB, and they have turned 107 double plays. The Cardinals have transformed 69.3% of balls hit into play into outs out of their 8,604 innings on the diamond, ranking them 22nd in MLB.

Gray has taken the mound for 1,682 innings and has tallied 1,659 K's in his career. Gray (108-91 win-loss record in his career) sits with a FIP of 3.44 and he has faced 6,979 opposing hitters in the major leagues. His earned run average is 3.49 (653 ER's allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.198. He has conceded 1,444 hits (7.7 hits per nine innings) and has 571 free passes.

The Chicago Cubs have compiled an on-base percentage of .309 and a batting average of .232 over the course of the season. They have been rung up on 951 occasions (10th in MLB) and have 840 base hits. Chicago is sitting with 107 long balls on the year to go along with 418 RBIs. The Cubs hold a slugging % of .374 and they are earning 4.07 runs per contest (25th in the league). They have 161 two-baggers, while getting a free base 364 times and putting up 444 runs.

The Chicago pitching staff have surrendered 460 runs on the campaign and come in with a team ERA of 3.78 (404 earned runs conceded). They have surrendered 115 home runs and they allow 4.31 runs per 9 innings (13th in the league). The Cubs are sitting with a team WHIP of 1.248 and have a FIP of 3.92 as a unit this year. Their K/BB ratio is 8.70 (932 strikeouts against 328 bases on balls). They come in at 15th in MLB as a staff in total hits conceded with 871.

Chicago relievers hold an inherited score rate of 31.4% out of their 153 inherited runners. Their relievers have come in 124 times in high leverage situations in addition to 105 occasions with runners on. With 91 save situations, the Cubs have 47 holds in addition to 20 blown saves. They are ranked 27th in the league with a save percentage of 53.5%, and they have sent 328 relief pitchers to the hill over the course of the season. Chicago has had relief pitchers enter the contest in 43 save opportunities and they have tallied 23 saves.

The Chicago Cubs have turned 59 double plays and have notched a fielding percentage of .986 (11th in the majors). The Cubs have accrued 870 assists, 53 errors and have earned 2,883 putouts so far this year. Out of their 8,649 innings on the field, the Cubs hold a defensive efficiency of 70.2% (14th in professional baseball).

In his MLB career, Imanaga has surrendered 100 base hits while tallying 111 K's in 109 frames. Imanaga (8-2 career record) has a 2.97 ERA and has given up 8.2 hits per nine innings. He has given up a total of 36 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.071 and having a FIP of 2.9. His strikeout to walk ratio is 6.53 and he has faced 445 opposing batters in his pro baseball career.

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

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Chicago

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