A split on the road at Busch Stadium was a good result for the Chicago Cubs against the St. Louis Cardinals. Though there is a lot of pressure on St. Louis right now, winning Game 3 with Jake Arrieta on the mound is absolutely imperative for the Cubs if they are going to have a shot at winning this series.
PITCHING MATCHUP
It was never really fathomable that Arrieta could have won the Cy Young Award at the midway part of the season. Zack Greinke was having a nuts season for sure, and his ending numbers certainly suggest that he should have walked away with this honor.
And then Jake Arrieta happened.
Since June 21, Arrieta is 17-1 with a 0.69 WHIP and a 0.81 ERA. In his last four starts, he has allowed a total of eight hits and one walk over 31 innings. Oh, and zero earned runs.
Needless to say, Michael Wacha has his work cut out for him. Sure, Wacha went 17-7 with a 3.38 ERA this year, but those numbers just seem to totally pale in comparison to those of Arrieta.
Wacha has allowed more runs in his last five starts (21) than Arrieta has allowed since June, and that has to have Cards fans shaking in their boots over the prospects of this game.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"We don't plan on coming back here. We can't. We plan on playing a good game on Monday. Obviously, we're very confident. But we want to do this now." – Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo on the way the NLDS is going
PROP TALK
Color us not sold on the Cubs right now offensively. Kris Bryant still doesn't have a single hit in his postseason career, going 0-for-11 with four strikeouts. Anthony Rizzo has only reached base once in 11 plate appearances as well, going 0-for-10 with a walk and four K's.
Wacha might not be Arrieta, but he knows how to shut down the opposition in the postseason, which is why we'd be fading away almost blindly on all of the Cubs, who are going to be overrated to get on base and make things happen in this game because of the presence of Arrieta on the mound.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
It's so tough to bet against the Cubs in this game, but we have to do it. This has been the postseason of the road team, and the Cards played as well on the road in 2015 as any team in the game.
Just out of pure scruples, we have to take St. Louis and the whopping +220 price which it is getting in this game, but we think there is some justification for it as well.
Arrieta has been crazy for sure, but Wacha is 4-2 with a 3.48 ERA in his six career postseason appearances, including striking out 33 men in just 31 innings of work.
There's a legitimate chance that Wacha can go out-for-out with Arrieta for seven frames or so, and if that turns out to be the case, the Cardinals have enough depth in their bullpen where they can squeak this game out. Don't be shocked if St. Louis is the team which takes that pivotal Game 3 to push the Cubs to the brink.
St. Louis 2, Chicago 1
BookMaker sent out the baseball odds for this marquee matchup before any other sportsbook. The Cubs were favored at -240 at the open. Since this game can be seen by anyone with a TV, BookMaker will have a multitude of wagering options available for it. Outside of the normal lines, you can gamble on real-time moneylines, player props and inning totals. Live betting is open during every commercial break!
Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker's live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here, so start betting with BookMaker today! Game 3 of the NLDS between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs will take place Monday, October 12, 2015 at 6:07 p.m. ET at Wrigley Field. You can watch the contest live on TBS.
