Lately, the story of the Chicago Cubs (51-35) has been their road struggles. Heading into Friday's game against St. Louis, the Cubs had lost eight of their last 10 games away from home. They dropped two of three to pitiful San Francisco, managing just four runs in their two losses. They were thoroughly handled by Tim Lincecum in Thursday's 8-3 defeat to the Giants. BetOnline.com has the St. Louis Cardinals –123 odds baseball prediction against the Chicago Cubs +113 odds with the over/under set at 8.5 runs.
St. Louis (49-38) had a three-game win streak going, but then dropped a couple of games to the Mets. The Cardinals were drubbed 11-1 by New York on Thursday. Still, they're easily within striking distance of the Cubs for first place in the NL Central, and a strong performance in this series could flip-flop these teams.
Key stats for the Chicago Cubs at St. Louis Cardinals, Saturday @ 3:55 p.m. ET:
Injuries – Chicago is still without outfielder Alfonso Soriano, who is mending a broken wrist. The Cardinals are dealing with injuries to pitchers Matt Clement and Adam Wainwright, but at least slugger Albert Pujols just returned to the lineup.
Starters – Ted Lilly (9-5, 4.56 ERA) will throw for the Cubs, who have won each of his past five starts. He pitched well against San Francisco last week, giving up two runs in seven innings. Kyle Lohse (10-2, 3.67 ERA) will take the mound for St. Louis and he's having a great year. He shut out the Mets in his last start and has won nine of his last 10 decisions.
History – Lilly won his only start against St. Louis this season, giving up three runs in seven innings of work. He has a 3.04 ERA against the Cardinals in seven career starts. Lohse was shelled in his only start against Chicago in 2008, giving up eight runs in six innings. He's 1-2 with a 5.92 ERA in five career starts against the Cubs. Overall, Chicago has one six of the last 10 games between these two teams, tough they've alternated wins and losses in the last five.
Streak – Chicago is 3-7 in its last 10 games, while St. Louis has won four of six.
Home/Away – The Cubs have won just two of their last 10 road games and have struggled away from home all season (18-25). The Cardinals are 25-19 at home, though they split their last home series, against the Mets, 2-2.
Intangibles – Chicago just can't seem to get it done on the road. That's bad news for Cubs backers.
Baseball Prediction: – St. Louis Cardinals
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