Tuesday’s MLB schedule includes an NL Central rivalry game between the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals. At home, the Cardinals are favored with a -172 moneyline, while Chicago’s moneyline is listed at +139. The game also comes with an over/under of eight runs.
The Cardinals open their August schedule on the outside of the playoff picture. St. Louis came back from the all-star break and immediately lost four in a row, closing July by going 3-5 in the team’s last eight games.
That has left the Cardinals three games behind the Brewers in the NL Central and one game out of the final Wild Card spot in the National League.
Of course, the Cubs are already miles from contention and have spent the last few days trading away key pieces. For what it’s worth, the Cubs aren’t far removed from a six-game winning streak that has moved them up to third in the NL Central.
However, they also lost three of four over the weekend and sit 19 games under .500.
The New Ace
The Cubs will send Keegan Thompson to the mound on Tuesday. Thompson has emerged as Chicago’s new ace this season, going 8-4 with a 3.16 ERA over his 13 starts and eight relief appearances.
After enduring a few hiccups in June, Thompson posted a 2.57 ERA over his four starts in July, although he failed to complete five innings in two of those starts, which could be a problem with the Cubs trading multiple bullpen arms in recent days.
Meanwhile, the Cubs haven’t scored a run since Saturday, getting shut out on Sunday and having Monday off. The Chicago lineup has also scored four runs or less in seven straight games, averaging three runs per game during that stretch.
There’s a good chance Willson Contreras, and Ian Happ will be traded by Tuesday’s game while Seiya Suzuki, Nico Horner, and others are deep in a slump.
The Wainwright Stuff
The Cardinals will have veteran Adam Wainwright on the mound Tuesday as the 40-year-old makes his 21st start of the season. Despite a 7-8 record, Wainwright owns a 3.28 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP over his first 20 starts of 2020.
Wainwright led the Cards to a win in his last start, giving up one run over seven innings against the Blue Jays, although St. Louis lost his previous four starts.
Of course, despite their losing record since the all-star break, the Cardinals have scored at least five runs in six of those eight games. The Cards are also missing Yadier Molina and Juan Yepez because of injuries, while Tommy Edman, Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, and Dylan Carlson are in the midst of a slump.
However, the likes of Nolan Gorman, Corey Dickerson, and Lars Nootbaar have heated up recently to help carry the St. Louis lineup.
Beware the Red Birds
Even if the St. Louis lineup isn’t firing on all cylinders right now, the Cardinals have been far better a scoring runs recently than the Cubs.
With Wainwright on the mound, the Cards also have a pitching advantage, especially with the Cubs trading away members of their bullpen in recent days. Take the safe approach and bet on the Cardinals to win on Tuesday.
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