The Chicago Cubs entered the all-star break in the midst of a three-game winning streak. The Cubs will try to extend that winning streak in their return to action this Thursday in the first game of their four-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Cardinals vs. Cubs 2018 odds: Chicago a home favorite as the MLB season resumes
The Chicago Cubs hope to keep things rolling in the second half of the season with a win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night as home betting favorites.
Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
Chicago is a -148 betting favorite with Kyle Hendricks taking the mound at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. The Cardinals hope to pull off the upset as +138 underdogs with starting pitcher Carlos Martinez.
St. Louis Cardinals at Chicago Cubs
When: Thursday, July 19, 7:05 p.m. ET
Where: Wrigley Field, Chicago, Illinois
Betting Line / Total: Chicago -148 / 9 Runs
Chicago Cubs
The Cubs have the best run differential in the National League at +114 runs and also finished the first half ranked in the top five in the majors in both offensive production with 5.12 runs per game and pitching with a team ERA of 3.56.
Chicago’s record has finally started to reflect these strong advanced stats as the team is now in first place in the NL Central with a record of 55-38. After starting the regular season off with a record of 43-35, the Cubs finished out the first half strong on a 12-3 run over their last 15 games.
In their last 12 home games against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Cubs hold a 10-2 advantage per the OddsShark MLB Database.
St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis narrowly avoided entering the all-star break on a four-game losing streak by beating the Cincinnati Reds 6-4 on Sunday. Even with that win, the Cardinals finished up the first half in the midst of a 6-10 slump over their last 16 games and a 12-18 one over their last 30.
Carlos Martinez has led the Cardinals to wins in three of his last four starts since seeing his team lose in his previous five trips to the mound.
Thursday night’s total is set at nine runs. The UNDER is 8-3-1 in Kyle Hendricks’ last 12 starts.
This matchup is the only game on the board on Thursday night and will mark the official start of the second half of the MLB season. This series continues through the weekend with pitching matchups of Jon Lester vs. Jack Flaherty on Friday, John Gant vs. Mike Montgomery on Saturday and Miles Mikolas vs. Jose Quintana on Sunday.
For more odds information, betting picks and a breakdown of this week’s top sports betting news check out the OddsShark podcast with Jon Campbell and Andrew Avery. Subscribe on iTunes or listen to it at OddsShark.libsyn.com.
