Chicago Cubs vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction: Cubs to humble Cardinals at home

Wrigley Field will host a Major League Baseball game on Friday between the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals. Let's take a look at the matchup ahead of us and make our pick and forecast.

On the season, the Chicago Cubs have a record of 45-50, and since the all-star break, they have a record of 3-3. The Cubs are currently 7 games behind in the battle for the National League wild card, so it is likely that they will be sellers when the trade deadline arrives. The Cubs pitching staff is currently ranked 15th in earned run average (4.14), 16th in walks allowed per nine innings (1.27), and 7th in quality starts (41). The offensive production of the Cubs ranks 10th in runs per game (4.79), 17th in batting average (0.225), and 21st in home runs (104). The Chicago Cubs are led in hits and runs batted in by Nico Hoerner, who has a total of 101 and 54, while Dansby Swanson and Ian Happ have combined for 165 hits and 78 RBI. The next pitcher is Marcus Stroman, who has a record of 10-6 with a 2.88 earned run average and 101 strikeouts so far this season. In his career, Stroman has a record of 1-5 versus the Cardinals, with a 4.96 earned run average and 48 strikeouts. 

The St. Louis Cardinals come into this game with a record of 43-53 and have won their last five consecutive contests. The Cardinals are attempting to win six games in a row for the first time this season. The Cardinals pitching staff is currently ranked 24th in earned run average (4.56), 27th in walks allowed per nine innings (1.45), and 25th in quality starts (28). The offensive production of the Cardinals ranks eleventh in runs per game (4.73), tenth in batting average (.257), and seventh in home runs (131). The Cardinals are led by Paul Goldschmidt with 104 hits and 49 runs batted in, while Nolan Arenado and Brendan Donovan have combined for 186 hits and 106 runs batted in. This is Steven Matz's turn to pitch, and so far he has a record of 0-7 with a 4.86 earned run average and 73 strikeouts. In his career, Matz's record versus the Cubs is 0-2 with a 3.92 earned run average and 20 strikeouts.

Even though the St. Louis Cardinals have won five games in a row leading up to this match, and even though they are playing better baseball than Cubs, I am not excited to face Marcus Stroman. On the season, the ace pitcher for the Cubs has a 2.88 earned run average (ERA), while at Wrigley Field, he has a 2.69 ERA and a.167 allowed batting average for his opponents. In Stroman's previous 11 starts with the Cubs, they have a record of 8-3. Unfortunately, I have to take the Cubs and the low ticket odds at home.