The Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals meet Friday in MLB action from Busch Stadium. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals prediction.

Starting Pitching Matchup

The Chicago Cubs will send out Shota Imanaga here and Imanaga is 5-0 with a 0.84 ERA and 58 strikeouts this season. This will be Imanaga’s first career start against the Cardinals. St. Louis will send out Miles Mikolas for the start here and is 3-5 with a 5.77 ERA and 39 strikeouts this season. In his last five starts against the Cubs, Mikolas is 1-2 with a 3.65 ERA and 17 strikeouts.

Chicago Cubs Recap

The Chicago Cubs come into this one looking to bounce back from another series loss, this time once again it was to the Atlanta Braves after a 3-0 loss in Thursday’s series finale. The Cubs have lost series to the Braves twice and the Pirates over the last week and a half.

Cubs Struggling With Production

Nico Hoerner leads the Cubs with 43 hits, 11 doubles and a .257 batting average while Christopher Morel has a team-high 9 home runs and 33 RBIs. Michael Busch has 7 homers with 20 RBIs but also has the unfortunate distinction of leading the Cubs with 63 strikeouts as well this season. Cody Bellinger also has 7 homers and 22 RBIs as well this season.

Why the Chicago Cubs will win

• The Cubs have won nine of their last 10 night games against National League opponents following a loss.
• The Cardinals have lost each of their last five night games against National League opponents.
• The road team has covered the run line in seven of the Cubs’ last eight games.
• The Cardinals have failed to cover the run line in each of their last five night games against National League opponents.
• The Cardinals have trailed after 5 innings in each of their last five home games against National League opponents.

St. Louis Cardinals Recap

The St. Louis Cardinals come into this one looking to keep their momentum going after handing the Baltimore Orioles their first sweep in two years with a 5-4 win in Wednesday’s series finale. The win for the Cards gave them their third straight series win with wins over the Angels and Red Sox as well in the last week and a half.

Cardinals Starting To Heat Up At The Plate

Nolan Arenado leads the Cardinals with 50 hits along with 10 doubles and 22 RBIs while Brendan Donovan has a team-high 23 RBIs with 12 doubles. Nolan Gorman has a team-high 8 home runs along with 21 RBIs in addition to 7 doubles while Masyn Winn has a .295 batting average and 7 stolen bases. Paul Goldschmidt also has a team-high 66 strikeouts as well this season.

Why the St. Louis Cardinals will win

• The Cubs have lost each of their last six Friday night games as favorites against National League opponents.
• The underdogs have won five of the last six games between the Cubs and Cardinals.
• The Cubs have failed to cover the run line in each of their last 12 games as favorites.
• The Cardinals have covered the run line in eight of their last nine games as home underdogs.
• The Cubs have lost the first inning in each of their last three games at Busch Stadium.
• The Cubs have trailed after 5 innings in three of their last four games as favorites against National League opponents.

Cubs vs. Cardinals Prediction

I’m on the Cubs here. The Cubs haven’t had a ton to be excited about as of late, but this team seems to step it up when Imanaga’s pitching as they’ve only lost once with him on the mound this season. I just flat out do not trust Miles Mikolas, as he has an ERA around six at home this season and has just been batting practice for opposing teams for the better part of the last couple of years. I think the Cubs rally behind their ace and while it sounds a bit odd to call a rookie an ace, he has been as good as advertised. Give me the Cubs here.