The Chicago Cubs (71-52, 31-31 away) and St. Louis Cardinals (53-70, 27-37 home) continue their National Central rivalry series with a Wednesday night showdown in the Windy City.
The two rivals played a day, night doubleheader on Tuesday, with the Cubs pitching a 2-0 shutout in the opener and the Cardinals bouncing back with a Wednesday’s first pitch is at 8:05 p.m. EST inside the confines of Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. St. Louis is the betting favorite at -220, and the over-under total opens at 8.5 runs.
What to Know – St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis has been one of the hottest teams in the majors since the start of the second half. The Cardinals have broken away from a two-way race in the NL Central and own a 5.5-game lead over the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Cardinals turn to right-hander Miles Mikolas (10-9, 3.32 ERA, 1.02 WHIP) on the mound Wednesday.
Mikolas has looked solid in his last two outings, picking up victories in both and surrendering only three earned runs over 16 innings. The 33-year-old has pitched 157.1 innings, allowing 58 earned runs on 133 hits and 28 walks while striking out 118 batters.
Paul Goldschmidt continues to lead the majors with a .335 batting average and is first on the team with 31 home runs and 100 runs batted in. Nolan Arenado is second with 26 blasts and 84 RBIs of his own. The veteran slugger Albert Pujols has 14 home runs, including seven in the month of August.
St. Louis ranks sixth in the MLB, hitting .258 as a team and averaging 4.9 runs per game. The pitching staff for the Cardinals sits 11th in the league sporting a 3.77 team earned run average.
What to Know – Chicago Cubs
Chicago has dropped three of its last four games after reeling off five straight, highlighted by series wins over the Brewers and Nationals. The Cubs are third in the NL Central, 18 games behind the Cardinals.
Right-hander Luke Farrell (0-0) is expected to be called up to make his 2022 major league debut. The 31-year-old last appeared in the MLB in 2021 with the Minnesota Twins. Farrell has appeared in 63 games over his professional career, compiling a 5-5 record with a 4.93 ERA and 1.46 WHIP.
Patrick Wisdom leads the Cubbies’ offense with 22 home runs and 58 RBIs. Ian Happ and Wilson Contreras, a pair of players who were expected to be dealt at the trade deadline, have combined for 33 home runs and 108 RBIs as the core of the Chicago offense.
The Cubs score 4.1 runs per contest and are 16th in the majors with a .241 team batting average. Chicago’s pitching staff features a 4.23 team ERA, 23rd in the MLB.
The Pick is In
Farrell returns to the majors for the first time, spending the season in the Cubs farm system to-date. The righty gets a tough matchup against a team that’s won nine of their last ten contests. The only advantage the Cardinals don’t have is the location of the contest, but that won’t matter in this one.
The Pick: St. Louis Cardinals ML
