Monday marks the first of 19 meetings between the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals, two of the sport’s biggest rivals. Both teams are off to slower than expected starts. A win in the series opener could set the tone for the already important three-game set. Both teams have veteran arms toeing the rubber in the contest with Adam Wainwright and Jon Lester set to take the hill, giving fans two gritty veterans to watch.
First pitch for the game between the Cardinals and Cubs is scheduled for Monday, April 16, 2018, at 7:05 p.m. ET at Wrigley Field. The matchup will be shown on ESPN.
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Odds Analysis
The Cardinals are already 0-3 in one run games, showing just how troublesome the St. Louis bullpen has been in the early going.
Greg Holland is now on the roster which pushes Bud Norris, Jordan Hicks, Dominic Leon and Tyler Lyons all out of the ninth inning and into earlier frames and more appropriate roles.
Hicks has been a huge find for the Cardinals who desperately needed a dependable flamethrower step up. Once Holland rounds out to form, this bullpen could snap into place, but for now, the pen remains a significant question mark.
The Cubs are another team that were thought to have a spot for Holland prior to him signing with the Cardinals.
Chicago committed to Brandon Morrow as their closer early in the offseason despite limited experience in that role. He was a lights out set up man in the second half of 2017.
Morrow has delivered in his chances to close so far this season, but hasn’t been given many chances.
Overall, save for Mike Montgomery, the Cubs’ bullpen has far out performed the Cardinals in the first two weeks of the season.
Probable Pitchers
Wainwright and Lester offer an interesting matchup of two aging veterans trying help their respective teams win despite diminishing stuff.
The Cardinals’ right-hander is already 0-2 this season. He’s allowed six runs and 12 hits in 10.2 innings of work, but that really doesn’t tell the whole story.
The veteran had a horrible first start of the season, allowing three runs in 3.2 innings against the Diamondbacks, but bounced back nicely to go seven frames, allowing three runs against the Brewers in his second start. Nevertheless, he still took the loss.
Wainwright’s always been one to fight and give his team a chance to win regardless of the stuff he has that day. That’s a helpful trait particularly given his ace-like stuff has been missing for several years now.
Wainwright had a 5.11 ERA in 2017 as his numbers have continued to grow, but he stepped up against the Cubs, pitching to a 1.83 ERA in three starts.
As for Lester, the veteran southpaw is only a year removed from coming in second in the Cy Young Award voting.
He was 19-5 with a 2.44 ERA in 2016, but the 34-year old’s ERA went up by nearly two runs in 2017 and he’s struggled with command in his first three starts, walking seven in 14.1 innings, giving up 17 hits and eight runs.
Teams are also trying to exploit Lester’s well documented issues holding runners. The Cardinals have enough team speed to exploit that hole in his game.
Live Betting
To this point in the season, the Cardinals and Cubs are both in the middle of the pack in runs scored, though a 13-4 win for St. Louis on Thursday helps beef up the Cardinal’s offensive numbers.
St. Louis hit four home runs in the game with Paul DeJong and Yadier Molina both hitting their fourth longball of the season. Jose Martinez went 4-for-5 with his third home runs and six RBIs. Martinez wasn’t even supposed to be an everyday player, but is now a fixture in the middle of the order.
Ahead of Martinez in the order was Marcell Ozuna who was 1-for-6. He hit his second homer, but is still sporting a meager .724 OPS. The Cardinals are expecting more from him and certainly need more from Dexter Fowler and Matt Carpenter.
Fowler was 2-for-5 on Thursday. That’s something, but he’s still batting only .176.
On the Cubs’ side, Chicago got a multi-hit game by Ian Happ and Kyle Schwarber on Thursday as the Cubs got the 6-1 win over the surprisingly strong Pirates.
The Cubs’ batting order is a bit of a mess. Without Anthony Rizzo, Joe Maddon had Ben Zobrist at first hitting third in the order. That alone should paint a bit of a picture of the Cubs’ lineup flaws.
MLB Pick
We have two wily veterans going head-to-head and neither are the same ace pitcher they used to be. Lester’s had issues with walks early on and that’s helped exaggerate the issues throwing to first.
The Cardinals have an offense to take advantage Lester’s struggles. St. Louis also can make things difficult for the Cubs in these rivalry games.
St. Louis will win at least one of the games in this series and this looks like as good of one as any given Lester’s command issues.
MLB Odds: Cardinals 7, Cubs 5
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