Game Information
St. Louis Cardinals (47-41) at Chicago Cubs (52-35)
Time: 1:20pm CT Friday
How to watch: Apple TV+
Probable pitchers: Miles Mikolas (4-5, 4.76 ERA) vs Colin Rea (5-3, 4.37 ERA)
DraftKings Odds
Moneyline: Cubs -138, Cardinals +114
Total: 9.5 (over -117, under -104)
Cards, Cubs Begin Series At Wrigley
The St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs meet for the second week in a row when they begin their holiday weekend series this afternoon.
The teams split their four-game series last week at Busch Stadium, and now they head to Wrigley Field where the Cubs are 28-15 this season.
Cardinals Desperate For Runs
Hopefully yesterday’s off day came at the right time, as the Redbirds need to snap out of a terrible offensive funk. They have been shut out three games in a row and in five of their last eight. The Cardinals have not scored in their last 49 innings against NL Central opponents.
It’ll be Miles Mikolas getting the assignment in the series opener. The veteran right-hander has been inconsistent lately with three good starts and three bad ones in his last six. Mikolas has pitched well against the Cubs in his career with a 3.17 ERA in 23 games (21 starts).
Cubs On A Roll
The Cubs are coming off a sweep of the Guardians that increased their NL Central lead to 4 games over the Brewers and 5.5 games over the Cardinals. The Cubs have been carried this season by their offense, as they rank 2nd in MLB with 5.33 runs per game.
Colin Rea will be on the mound for Chicago this afternoon and has had similar inconsistencies to Mikolas over his last 10 starts. Rea has permitted 2 earned runs or less in five of those outings, but he’s given 4 earned runs or more in the other five starts.
My Lean
I think this game has a very wide range of outcomes. Both Mikolas and Rea are very volatile, so nothing would stun me with how either of them pitch today.
The wind also appears to be unpredictable this afternoon, so it’s difficult to make a play on the total as well.
I’m going to pass on betting this one, but with a total of 9.5, the oddsmakers certainly expect a high-scoring game. If you’re going to bet this game, live a little, take the over, and hope for some fireworks here on the 4th of July.
Lean: Over 9.5 at -117 on DraftKings
Eric Sontag hosts Domesticated Gamblers every Friday on the STL Sports Central YouTube channel. Follow him on X @GamblingDads, and click here for his daily picks on all of our St. Louis area sports teams. Picks = betting the game - minus odds betting to win 1 unit, plus odds risking 1 unit. Leans = no strong opinion, not betting the game. Disclaimer