St. Louis Cardinals at Chicago Cubs betting odds on ESPN Wednesday

A small bump in the road aside, the St. Louis Cardinals (53-28, $2,028) are back to their winning ways with two straight wins.

They will look to continue that streak, and either winning streak against the Chicago Cubs (44-36, $436) when the two teams meet in the finale of a four game series on Wednesday night.

ODDS ANALYSIS

The Cardinals have owned the Cubs this season, winning seven of their first nine head-to-head matchups heading into this four game set.

One thing that helps to skew things a little more in Chicago’s favor is the stadium. This series, including its final game, will be played in Chicago where the Cubs are 22-16 and 29-21 when playing under the lights.

Of course, the Cards are pretty good on the road (22-17) and at night (34-20), but have actually been even better at home (31-11) and during the day (19-8).

St. Louis swept Chicago in their last series, but since then the Cardinals are just 2-4 while the Cubs are 5-1.

PITCHING MATCHUP

Michael Wacha will take the hill for the Cardinals in this series finale, bringing a team high 10 wins to the table.

The 24-year old right-hander burst onto the scene in 2013 and is 19-10 in his 50 games since with a 2.90 ERA and 1.132 WHIP.

Wacha, however, has been even better this year going 10-3 with a 2.66 ERA and 1.086 WHIP through 101 1/3 innings of work.

The youngster has also delivered back-to-back games allowing only one run, including his June 27 start against this same Cubs team where he pitched six strong innings.

Given Wacha’s amazing numbers, and very strong peripheral numbers that show him with a 3.48 strike out to walk rate and 3.17 FIP, the only real concern about him is durability. The most he has ever thrown in a big league season is 107 innings and he figures to reach that number on Wednesday. His decline is probably moving forward, just not on Wednesday.

On the other side, the Cubs will send a pitcher eight years Wacha’s senior to the hill in Jason Hammel.

Hammel has thrived in a Cubs uniform with a cumulative 2.94 ERA while posting an ERA above four with each of his other four stops in the big leagues.

This season, Hammel is just 5-4, but has a 2.89 ERA and 0.955 WHIP in 102 2/3 innings spread over 16 starts. While very good overall, his only start against the Cardinals was not as successful as he allowed four runs in just four innings.

QUOTE TO NOTE

In winning five of six, it has been the pitching, not the hitting, that has carried the Cubs as their bats have quieted down of late. That, however, is okay with manager Joe Maddon who noted that pitching is the most important part, saying:

“You’ve got to pitch. The game could have been called pitching instead of baseball.”

LIVE/SITUATIONAL BETTING

While the pitching has been key for the Cubs of late, it would be an oversight to ignore the offensive component. With two solid pitchers facing off, this game may very well come down to a hot bat or two.

With the Cubbies offense ice cold, they are hoping that the return of outfielder Jorge Soler can help provide them a spark.

The young right-fielder played his first game since June 1 on Sunday, going 0 for 3. While his return was lackluster, his presence does help lengthen a lineup that’s yielded only 314 runs in 80 games.

With Soler added to the likes of Anthony Rizzo (.948 OPS) and Kris Bryant (.867 OPS), the team has additional pop and one of the best young cores in all of baseball.

Interestingly, the Cubs offense is right on par with the Cardinals’ who have scored just six more runs than them this year while playing one additional game.

St. Louis’s offense has been cold as well, scoring no more than three runs in any of their last six games.

The Cardinals, low run total and all, get the job done when they need to and always seem to find just enough to pull out the win.

The team is dealing with injuries, but just seems to find someone that can step in and get the job done. The latest such player is Tommy Pham who got the call with Jon Jay going down and collected two doubles and a home run in the weekend series.

PROP TALK

If you are looking for someone to collect a hit or two—or maybe even a home run—in Wednesday’s series finale, Jhonny Peralta is a great pick.

The Cardinals’ shortstop has had an All-Star first half with a .819 OPS and team leading 11 home runs to go along with a very solid .297 average. He has also found a great deal of success against Hammel. In a team leading 22 at bats against the veteran righty, Peralta is 9 for 22 with a pair of home runs and eight RBIs.

ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION

This should be a very good pitching matchup as both starters are fairly balanced based on stats this year and each offense is below average in terms of runs scored. The main difference between these teams is the Cardinals’ experience, defense and bullpen.

Chicago has committed nine more errors than St. Louis and has an ERA of 2.88 out of its pen. While very good, it doesn’t compare to the Cardinals’ league leading 2.16 ERA.

St. Louis 4, Chicago 2

BookMaker will send out the baseball odds for this marquee matchup before any other sportsbook. BookMaker is going to have multiple betting options available for this nationally-televised baseball matchup. Live wagering during commercials offers an adjusted moneyline, individual inning run totals and next hitter results. Log in and start gambling during the game now!

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