MLB’s Sunday night primetime game this week is a rivalry matchup between the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cubs have won the first two games of the series at home by a combined score of 15-7. They are also favored on Sunday with a moneyline of -135, whereas the Cardinals have a moneyline of +125.
After a rough weekend in San Francisco last weekend, the Cubs have quickly gotten back on track. Chicago has now won four straight games, bringing them ten games over .500. That stretch has the Cubs in a tie atop the NL Central standings with the Brewers, who are equally hot at the moment.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals have plummeted over the last few weeks. With losses in the first two games of the series, the Cards are 2-8 during the month of June. St. Louis also lost two in a row to close out May, helping to drop them to .500 and fourth in the NL Central, five games off the pace.
Shopping with C-Mart
With three key members of their starting rotation on the IL, the Cards need a strong performance from Carlos Martinez on Sunday. Of course, Martinez is 3-6 with a 6.21 ERA over his first 11 starts of the season. After pitching well for most of May, Martinez has allowed 15 runs on just 13 hits over 4.2 innings during his two June starts, causing a nearly two-point jump in his ERA.
It doesn’t help Martinez that the Cubs have scored 15 runs during the first two games of the series and have scored at least seven runs in three of their last four games. Joc Pederson has become the latest Chicago hitter to get hot, batting .389 with five home runs in his last five games. Of course, the Cubs have five other players who have multiple home runs over the last week, giving the Chicago lineup plenty of firepower.
The Zach Attack
Zach Davies will get the nod for the Cubs on Sunday night with the team going for the sweep. Over his first 13 starts of the season, Davies has gone 3-3 with a 4.45 ERA. However, Davies has been at his best lately, posting a 1.72 ERA during the month of May and tossing six shutout innings against the Padres in his last start.
The obvious caveat is that Nolan Arenado, Matt Carpenter, Yadier Molina, and Paul Goldschmidt are all batting over .300 against Davies in their careers. The Cards have also scored at least five runs in three of their last five games despite their poor record in recent days. Arenado, Carpenter, and Molina have all been productive over the past week, while Tyler O’Neill has three home runs in his last five games.
Bust Out the Brooms
The Cardinals are too cold right now for bettors to take a chance on them. It doesn’t help that the Cubs are crushing the ball lately while Martinez has been terrible in his last two starts. Bet on the Cubs to win on Sunday night and finish off the sweep of St. Louis.
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