Cardinals vs Cubs Odds, Betting Lines, and Probable Pitchers (Sep. 25)
- The St Louis Cardinals are -165 away favorites over the Chicago Cubs in this battle of NL Central rivals on Saturday, September 25
- St Louis extended its winning streak to 14 games with an 8-5 and 12-4 wins over Chicago in a Friday twin-bill
- They’ve tied the franchise record for consecutive wins of 14 set by the 1935 Cardinals
The St Louis Cardinals (85-69, 43-36 away) just keep on rolling, and rolling over the Chicago Cubs (67-87, 39-40 home) in the process.
A pair of victories over the Cubs in a Friday doubleheader put the Cards on the verge of franchise history. It gave them 14 successive wins. That ties the club record for consecutive victories set in 1935.
St Louis is favored to just keep on winning when these two old rivals meet again on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals are the -165 road favorites in this game. St Louis is a solid 14-9 against the runline as an away favorite this season.
Cardinals vs Cubs Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Runline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Louis Cardinals | -165 | N/A | N/A |
| Chicago Cubs | +145 | N/A | N/A |
Odds as of September 24th at DraftKings
First pitch for Saturday’s game at Wrigley Field is slated for 2:20pm ET. Cloudy skies, 11 mph wind and a temperature of 69 degrees are in the forecast.
Lester vs Sampson
| 7-6 | Record | 1-2 |
| 4.59 | ERA | 2.84 |
| 5.72 | xERA | 5.88 |
| 1.47 | WHIP | 1.18 |
| 1.69 | SO/W Ratio | 2.83 |
People scoffed when the Cardinals acquired Lester from the Washington Nationals but it’s the veteran left-hander who’s having the last laugh. In 10 starts for St Louis, Lester is 4-1. He’s knocked a full run of his ERA from 5.02 with Washington to 4.02 for the Cards.
Lester has won his last four decisions, including his past two starts. He’s posted an ERA of 3.00 in successive victories over the Mets and Brewers. The win over Milwaukee on September 20 was Lester’s 200th big-league victory.
2️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ wins for Jon Lester! pic.twitter.com/28zWGECt5a
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) September 21, 2021
The crafty southpaw has worked at least six innings in four of his past five starts and allowed two earned runs or fewer in each of his last six times he’s toed the rubber. Facing the Cubs once this season while with Washington, Lester took the loss in a 7-3 setback on May 17. He was tagged for five earned runs in 5.1 innings pitched.
In three career starts against the Cubs, Lester is 2-1 with a 6.50 ERA. A Cub from 2015-20 and part of Chicago’s 2016 World Series-winning team, Lester is 40-25 in 93 career starts at Wrigley Field with a 3.73 ERA.
Right-hander Sampson has made eight appearances for the Cubs this season, including three starts. Two of those starts have come in September. Sampson is 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA.
He hasn’t faced the Cardinals this season. Sampson is 1-0 during his career against St Louis in one relief appearance. He posted a 1.50 ERA over 5.1 innings of work.
Batting Average vs Starting Pitchers
| Cardinals Batters | Batting Average vs Sampson | Cubs Batters | Batting Average vs Lester |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nolan Arenado | .000 | Sergio Alcantara | .000 |
| Harrison Bader | .667 | David Bote | .000 |
| Dylan Carlson | .000 | Willson Contreras | .667 |
| Matt Carpenter | .500 | Greg Deichmann | .000 |
| Paul DeJong | .500 | Matt Duffy | .500 |
| Tommy Erdman | .000 | Ian Happ | .500 |
| Paul Goldschmidt | .000 | Nico Hoerner | .000 |
| Andrew Knizner | .000 | Nick Martini | .000 |
| Yadier Molina | .000 | Rafael Ortega | .000 |
| Lars Nootbaar | .000 | Austin Romine | .400 |
| Tyler O’Neill | .000 | Frank Schwindel | .000 |
| Jose Rondon | .000 | Trayce Thompson | .000 |
| Edmundo Sosa | .000 | Patrick Wisdom | .000 |
Cubs catcher Wilson Contreras is 2-for-3 (.667) off of Lester with a solo homer. Infielder Matt Duffy (2-for-4 ) and outfielder Ian Happ (1-for-2) are both .500 hitters when facing Lester. Catcher Austin Romine is 2-for-5 (.400) with an RBI.
Pirates outfielder Walter Mueller was the first man to hit a home run on the first pitch he faced in the majors on 5/7/1922. Cubs catcher Wilson Contreras is the last man to do it, as a pinch hitter on 6/19/2016. pic.twitter.com/AIibgOLQ9M
— John Devlin (@lielo4950) March 25, 2021
Cardinals centerfielder Harrison Bader is 2-for-3 (.667) against Sampson. Second baseman Matt Carpenter and shortstop Paul DeJong are both 1-for-2 (.500) off of Sampson.
Cardinals vs Cubs Picks
When Paul Goldschmidt and Tyler O’Neill homered in the opener of Friday’s doubleheader, they joined teammate Nolan Arenado at the 30-home run plateau this season.
Tyler O’Neill with an epic home run skip! pic.twitter.com/Fh2B4QHTj4
— Baseball Quotes (@BaseballQuotes1) September 25, 2021
It’s only the second time in Cardinals history that they’ve suited up a trio in the 30-home run club. The others were the so-called “MV3” of Albert Pujols, Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen in 2004. That Cardinals team went to the World Series.
The Cardinals are 20-6 in their last 26 road games. They are 9-2 against the runline in their last 11 games. Stay with the hot team and ride them until they’re done winning.
Pick: St Louis Cardinals (-165).
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
