A key battle on the MLB odds menu sees visiting Chicago duelling St. Louis on Friday at Busch Stadium.

Ryan Dempster gets the ball in front of a hostile crowd for the Cubs on this day; he's 5-3 on the season. The Cardinals, meanwhile, will counter with Kyle Lohse, who will be looking to improve on his 9-2 mark.



View Chi Cubs vs St Louis Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
On the Sportsbook MLB line for this matchup, St. Louis sat as -150 favorites. The total was set at 8.5.

Power Rankings:
It's a baseball betting matchup between the National League No. 4-rated Cardinals and the league No. 14-ranked Cubs, according to the latest MLB power poll here at Odds Shark.



How They Match Up:
The game also pits St. Louis' No. 2-rated National League offense, averaging 4.8 runs per game, against a Cubs defense that ranks No. 10 in the National League at 4.4 in runs allowed per game. The Cardinals have averaged 9.5 hits per game so far, more than Cubs batters have averaged on the year (8.4 hits per game).

Defensively, Chicago features the National League's No. 13-rated defense on the road, allowing 4.8 runs per game. St. Louis, meanwhile, comes in at No. 4 in the National League at home, scoring 4.9 runs per game.

Chicago won its last outing, a 4-2 result against the Marlins on July 19. Bettors who backed the Cubs at +110 on the moneyline won on the day, and the total score (6) sent UNDER bettors to the payout window. The Cubs grabbed a win last time out, defeating Mark Buehrle and the Marlins 4-2 on Thursday at Wrigley Field.

The Cardinals were a 4-3 loser in their most recent outing on the road against the Brewers. That made Sportsbooks of bettors who got Milwaukee at +138 on the moneyline, while the total score (7) was good news for UNDER bettors. St. Louis suffered a 4-3 loss against Milwaukee on Wednesday, as Adam Wainwright wasn't able to lead his team to victory at Miller Park.


Chicago Cubs Trends:
When playing on Friday are 3-7
Before playing St. Louis are 7-3
After playing Miami are 4-6
After a win are 6-4

St. Louis Cardinals Trends:
When playing on Friday are 4-6
Before playing Chi Cubs are 3-7
After playing Milwaukee are 6-4
After a loss are 5-5

A few Cubs at Cardinals trends to consider:
Chi Cubs are 6-1 SU in their last 7 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Chi Cubs' last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Chi Cubs' last 5 games when playing on the road against St. Louis
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Chi Cubs' last 13 games when playing St. Louis
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of St. Louis' last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of St. Louis' last 6 games at home
St. Louis is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of St. Louis' last 5 games when playing at home against Chi Cubs


Next up:
Chi Cubs at St. Louis, Saturday, July 21