Chi. Cubs Cubs vs St. Louis Cardinals Picks and Predictions August 1st 2024

The forecast for Thursday’s Cardinals vs. Cubs game calls for cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid-80s. First pitch from Wrigley Field is set for 8:05 PM ET. MARQ is carrying the Cubs on TV.

St. Louis has won two straight and is 56-52 overall, while the Cubs are 52-58 and are 5th in the NL Central. Chicago is favored on the money line, and the over/under line is at 8 runs. Shota Imanaga is starting for the Cubs, and the Cardinals are starting Sonny Gray.

St. Louis vs. Chicago Key Information

Sonny Gray gets the start for the Cardinals today as he faces the Cubs on the road. He has made 19 starts this year and has a record of 10-6 with an ERA of 3.79. Gray’s WHIP for the season is currently 1.10. In his last outing, he finished with a no-decision, giving up five earned runs in five innings of work. Before that outing, he had won three straight starts. Gray has a total of eight quality starts this year and is averaging 11.12 strikeouts per nine innings. Overall, he has 138 strikeouts this year, with his home run total at 12.

Over the past 10 games, Paul Goldschmidt has been swinging a hot bat for the Cardinals, going 12/38 with three homers and six runs scored. For the season, Goldschmidt is batting .264 with 16 homers and 48 RBIs. Alec Burleson leads the team in RBIs and is 13th in the league in that category, with 63 runs batted in. Burleson also has 18 homers, which is the 2nd most on the team.

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As a team, the Cardinals are averaging 4.2 runs per game, which is 21st in the league. Their team batting average of .247 is 10th in the league, and they are also near the top of the league in terms of avoiding strikeouts. St. Louis is hoping to get more production out of Nolan Gorman, who is batting just .202 this season but does lead the team with 19 homers.

Shota Imanaga gets the start for the Cubs today vs. the Cardinals and comes into the game with a record of 8-2 and ERA of 2.95. So far this season, he has made 19 starts, and opponents have put together a batting average of .233 vs. Imanaga. In his 19 appearances, he has turned in 12 quality starts and is averaging 9.11 strikeouts per nine innings. Imanaga’s last outing came vs. the Royals, where he went 5 2/3 innings, giving up three earned runs, and finished with a no-decision. Before that, he had won two straight starts.

So far this season, the Cubs are averaging 4.2 runs per game, which is 23rd in the league. As a team, they are batting just .234 and have the 21st ranked home run total in the league. However, the Cubs do have the 6th best walk rate in the league and have an OBP of .310.

Over the team’s last 10 games, Seiya Suzuki has gone 12/39, and Ian Happ has gone just 8/39. However, Happ does lead the team with 17 homers, and his 62 RBIs are also the best mark on the team. Isaac Paredes is 2nd on the team in RBIs and has 16 homers this season.

For today’s matchup between the Cardinals and Cubs, we are leaning towards the Cardinals to pick up the win. These teams are projected to have the highest combined run total in the league today, and our lean would be to the over. St. Louis is our top projected team in terms of runs scored, and Sonny Gray has the best strikeout projections among today’s starters.

Cards’ Sonny Gray Eyes Turnaround, Starting vs. Cubs

St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Sonny Gray enters Thursday night’s series opener against the host Chicago Cubs with 10 successes, one of the National League leaders in this category. Notwithstanding, Gray will be feeling quite a bit better to flip the calendar to August after a challenging July.

Sonny Gray’s Struggles in July

Gray (10-6, 3.79 ERA) had an extreme month, going 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA in four starts. He allowed 18 earned runs on 32 hits and four walks north of 24 innings. His most late trip, a 10-8 misfortune to the Washington Nationals on Friday, saw him surrender five sudden spikes in demand for seven hits and three walks more than five innings.

This marked the third time in four starts that Gray had allowed at least five earned runs. In spite of these struggles, Gray remains certain about his ability to make something happen.

“Physically, I’m feeling significantly better,” Gray said. “I’m just not setting up zeroes at this moment. I understand what I really want to do and I understand what I have to do to be a great pitcher, and it takes a ton of exertion and a ton of energy, yet I’ll focus on doing it again.”

Gray has a career record of 5-4 with a 2.86 ERA in 13 starts against the Cubs, however he has struggled at Wrigley Field, posting a 1-2 record with a 4.71 ERA in four starts.

Cardinals’ Recent Performance

St. Louis, presently in runner up in the National League Central, five games behind first-place Milwaukee, brings a two-game series of wins into the four-game series. They defeated the Texas Rangers 10-1 on Wednesday, with right-hander Michael McGreevy making his major league debut.

McGreevy, the team’s No. 15 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, held the defending World Series champions to one run on five hits over seven innings.

“Oh, man, that was awesome to watch,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “Probably the most impressive thing was how much he was in control. You wouldn’t have thought it was his first time out there on a big-league field. He didn’t make the moment any bigger than it was, and he was calm throughout.”

Cubs’ Starting Pitcher: Shota Imanaga

Freshman left-hander Shota Imanaga (8-2, 2.95 ERA) will make his subsequent career start against St. Louis. Imanaga recently gave up one sudden spike in demand for four hits north of seven innings, striking out six in a 5-1 win over the Cardinals on June 15. The Cubs are 15-4 when Imanaga pitches, tied for the most team wins in starts by any NL pitcher.

Cubs’ Recent Performance and New Additions

Chicago is 10 games behind first-place Milwaukee and 6 1/2 games out of a wild-card spot after parting a six-game road excursion to Kansas City and Cincinnati. They finished up the excursion with a 13-4 win over the Reds on Wednesday.

Ian Happ had a two-run homer among his three hits, Cody Bellinger went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored, and third baseman Isaac Paredes, acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays at the trade deadline, went 2-for-4 with two duplicates and three races to lead Chicago.

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The Cubs got done with season highs for runs and hits (17) and clubbed nine duplicates, their most in a game beginning around 2010.

“We just hit a ton of balls hard and had a ton of good at-bats,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “It was just a great night for the offense.”

“To come out on getaway day and to have that win and head back home for a big series against the Cardinals, it’s good momentum,” Happ added.

Game Outlook

As the Cardinals and Cubs face off, Sonny Gray aims to turn his season around with a strong performance. The Cubs, buoyed by recent offensive success and new additions, look to continue their momentum. This matchup promises to be a competitive and exciting start to the series.