BookMaker is the only online sportsbook where you can get the earliest MLB moneylines, runlines, totals and props. If you want to wager on baseball odds like the pros do, you need to join BookMaker today! The ballgame between the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs will take place Sunday, June 4, 2016, at 7:35 p.m. ET at Wrigley Field. The game will be televised live on ESPN.
It’s June, the Chicago Cubs are under-.500 and they’re set to play the St. Louis Cardinals in primetime, on national television and neither of these two squads sit atop the NL Central. That entire statement doesn’t make sense to most baseball fans, yet it’s the truth.
You can bet on MLB odds at BookMaker.eu every day of the season.
ODDS ANALYSIS
It’s downright flabbergasting how the Cubs can be this bad, yet, here we are. Chicago sits two games under .500 as of the start of June and they are currently looking to snap a six-game losing streak.
Every time the Cubs seem to be getting it together, they falter. This time, they’ve faltered badly.
In the first six meetings between these teams, they’ve each walked away with a series win and are 3-3 overall.
The Cubs are at Wrigley which is a good thing for them, but it’s also a good thing for the Cardinals who are a better team on the road.
PROBABLE PITCHERS
Prime time will feature a couple younger veterans on the hill as we wrap up yet another installment of this classic rivalry.
The Cubs have regressed in nearly every aspect of the game. The offense is gotten worse and so has the starting pitching.
When it comes to starters, Kyle Hendricks has been the least of the Cub’s worries. He pitches on Sunday, but even he has seen his ERA jump considerably over last year. Nevertheless, at a 3.75 ERA, he’s still giving Chicago a chance to win if they can manage to put a few runs on the board.
An upper-3 ERA is probably more in line with Hendricks’ skillset than the 2.13 ERA he used to lead the league last year. He’s not a power pitcher. He’s not going to strike out a ton, but he’s a pitcher. He knows what he’s doing on the mound. He can locate his pitches more times than not and he can force weak contact.
Hendricks’ control seems to be at its peak right now. He’s not allowed walk in back-to-back games, but he did give up five runs in five innings to the Padres in his last start. That’s embarrassing. Before that, he had three straight quality starts.
None of these numbers are overly impressive, but they describe a quality starter.
To counter Hendricks, the Cardinals will look to 25-year old right-hander Michael Wacha.
Wacha got some extra rest a couple weeks ago and it hasn’t agreed with him. Through his first seven starts, he had a 2.74 ERA despite a 3-4 team record in his starts. He pitched in a lot of bad luck, but pitched well.
He was then given some time to rest because of his injury history, but that may have been the worst thing for him. Since then, he’s made two starts—both against the Dodgers—giving up nine runs in seven combined innings.
LIVE BETTING
Jason Heyward is batting .257 and has played in both right-field and center. He’s amazing defensively in right, but his value drops in the middle. Even with all of this, he’s second on this team in rWAR.
Kris Bryant is doing MVP-like things right now. He’s keeping the Cubs from completely tanking. He’s got a .933 OPS and has 11 home runs and 25 extra base hits. Anthony Rizzo is providing pop with a dozen bombs, but he’s also hitting just .227.
Add him to the laundry list of terrible averages for the North Siders. Addison Russell is hitting .216, Kyle Schwarber is now a platoon player with a .165 average and Ben Zobrist, Willson Contreras and even Javier Baez are all underperforming expectations.
Right now, the only part of this team doing well is the backend of the bullpen. Wade Davis is a lockdown closer and Carl Edwards Jr. is the closer of the future. The two have a 0.98 and 0.90 ERA, respectively. If the Cubs have the lead through seven this game is over, but that’s been a very tough ask for this team over the last week.
QUICK PICK
The Cubs have lost seven straight, but the Cardinals are just 4-10 in their last 14 games.
Neither team is playing their best baseball, but you can expect both to get up to play against their rivals even with both being a bit disheartened with the lack of recent success.
If both teams play up to their expectations, the Cubs are the better squad. Their bullpen is more reliable; they’ve got some defensive superstars; and their offense should—that being the key word—be better.
On the mound, Hendricks has been more consistent lately than Wacha and with the better pen behind him, take the Cubs in a close battle.
MLB Odds: Cubs 5, Cardinals 4
Need to fund your account before the big game but don’t have your computer? No problem, BookMaker Sportsbook now offers a mobile betting cashier so you can deposit money directly from your smartphone. Don’t miss out on getting paid because you couldn’t bet, click here and deposit at BookMaker now!
