The only team to-date over 90 wins, the St. Louis Cardinals currently sit at 91-54, leading the way in the NL with a cumulative moneyline of $2,437.
They’ll wrap up a three game set with the Cubs on Sunday. Chicago is currently 84-61 with a $1,015 moneyline.
ODDS ANALYSIS
St. Louis had been running away with the division all year, but dropped eight of ten recently to allow other teams to inch closer.
The Cardinals seem to have rebounded from that stretch, however, winning three straight on the road where they’ve not been as good as they have at home this year.
Even so, St. Louis is still a very solid 41-30 on the road this season and will bring that record with them to Wrigley Field.
The Cubs, on the other hand, just took their last two games from the Pirates after a four game series split with the Phillies. They’re 43-28 at home and will be happily returning back home to start this series.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Sunday’s pitching matchup looks to be a good one with Jon Lester taking the hill for the Cubs and Carlos Martinez getting the nod for the Cards.
Consistency has been a bit lacking for Lester this year, but the 31-year old southpaw’s numbers are still pretty solid with a 3.38 ERA and 1.158 WHIP in 184 innings of work. His FIP is also below three at 2.95. As for wins and losses, he’s just 10-10.
He allowed a single run in a five hit shutout against the Pirates his last time out and has a 1.71 ERA through two September starts. He’s coming off a bad August where he had a 5.04 ERA, though he’s been an every-other-month sort of pitcher this year. He has ERAs north of five in April, June and August and below two in May, July and now September.
Against the Cardinals this year, Lester is just 1-2, but he has a 1.78 ERA and 1.026 WHIP in four starts.
For St. Louis, Carlos Martinez was one of their better arms in the first half with a 10-3 record and 2.52 ERA.
Of late, the young right-hander seemed to have hit a bit of a wall. He’s got a 3.86 ERA in the second half and had allowed at least three runs in each of his last six starts until his last outing.
Last time out, he allowed just one run in eight innings against Milwaukee, lowering his ERA to its current 3.02 on the year. He’s 13-7 with a 1.292 WHIP overall.
While his season as a whole has been good, his four games against Chicago haven’t. He’s 1-0 against them, but has a 6.32 ERA and 1.915 WHIP in 15 2/3 innings.
QUOTE TO NOTE
There are concerns about whether Martinez has thrown too many innings and his effectiveness moving forward. Those concerns were silenced on Tuesday. After his strong outing, manager Mike Matheny said:
“It was the best I’ve seen him throw. That was no-hit stuff.”
LIVE/SITUATIONAL BETTING
Here in September, the Cardinals’ offense has slowed way down, scoring just 48 runs in 14 games, the second fewest in the majors.
The last few games have been a bit better for the offense. Plus, the team also now has Matt Adams back as well as Matt Holliday. While the return of the veteran bats is big, it was Tommy Pham that carried the team on Wednesday with a couple home runs.
For the Cubs, they rank seventh in baseball in runs this month with 81. They’ve gotten better and better as the season has progressed. Javier Baez has been pretty good since his recall with a .298 average.
PROP TALK
If you’re looking for someone to go long in this game, look no further than Jhonny Peralta. The Cards shortstop has three home runs in 37 at bats against Lester and has a .847 OPS. Another solid option is Heyward who’s 9 for 21 with five extra base hits.
On the other side, Anthony Rizzo is the only Cub with a home run against Martinez, and at 3 for 6, Addison Russell has had the most success overall.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
This should be a very interesting matchup. Lester and Martinez should both go deep and keep their team in the game.
Offensively, the Cardinals are finally healthy and clicking over the last three days. With the Cubs also hitting well, that leaves the bullpen as the differentiator.
In this case, the edge goes to St. Louis whose pen has a 2.54 ERA while the Cubs bullpen has been shaky of late and has a 3.56 ERA overall.
St. Louis 4, Chicago 3
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!
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! The ballgame between the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs will take place Sunday, September 20, 2015, at 2:20 p.m. ET at Wrigley Field. The contest will be broadcast nationally on TBS.
