The St. Louis Cardinals have gone 3-0 in their last three games against the Chicago Cubs since going just 3-12 in their previous 15 games in this head-to-head rivalry. The Cardinals can extend their recent winning streak over their division rivals with a win Friday night.
Cubs vs. Cardinals odds 2018: Rivals meet Friday with tight betting line at the sportsbooks
The St. Louis Cardinals will try to keep their winning streak against the Chicago Cubs going Friday night, with Michael Wacha scheduled to take on Jon Lester.
Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images
St. Louis is a slight underdog at -103 in Friday’s three-game series opener at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. This could be a good pitching duel as Michael Wacha takes the mound against Jon Lester and the Cubs (-107).
Chicago Cubs at St. Louis Cardinals
When: Friday, June 15, 8:15 p.m. ET
Where: New Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri
Betting Line / Total: Chicago -107 / 8 Runs
St. Louis Cardinals
Offensive production has been an issue for the Cardinals all season long as the team ranks in the bottom half of the league in runs per game with 4.26 and in batting average at just .243.
But despite issues on offense and in the bullpen, St. Louis has managed to keep itself in the race for the NL Central with a 36-30 record thanks to its excellent starting pitching. Cardinals starters have combined for a 3.11 ERA so far this season ranking third best in the majors and second only to Washington’s 3.08 ERA in the National League.
Michael Wacha owns an 8-1 record with a 2.47 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP so far in 2018. The Cardinals ace has led his team to a 10-2 record in his last 12 starts.
Chicago Cubs
The Cubs got on a nice run towards the end of May, snapping out of a 1-3 slump with an 11-2 run over their next 13 games. But in a three-game series on the road earlier this week against the Milwaukee Brewers, the Cubs opened the series with a 7-2 win before failing to score a run over their next 18 innings in back-to-back shutout losses.
Chicago missed a golden opportunity to catch Milwaukee in the standings and are now 1.5 games behind the Brewers with a 38-27 record.
Friday night’s total is set at eight runs. The UNDER is 6-1 in Chicago’s last seven games according to the OddsShark MLB Database and 4-0 in St. Louis’ last four.
This should be an intense series between two rivals trying to claw their way to the top of the division. Kyle Hendricks will face Carlos Martinez on Saturday and then the series will wrap up with Jose Quintana vs. Jack Flaherty on Sunday.
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