Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals Prediction: Can Javier Assad, Sonny Gray Take Control Early?
We have a great Sunday Night Baseball matchup between the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals. Can Javier Assad and Sonny Gray take control of the game early tonight? Ben Rajavuori shares his Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals prediction.
Ben Rajavuori
| 5 min
Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals Prediction: Can Javier Assad, Sonny Gray Take Control Early?
Sunday Night Baseball heads to St. Louis as the Cubs and Cardinals square off to finish off another week in the MLB. The shortened two-game series will end tonight after the Cardinals escaped a narrow victory yesterday by a score of 7–6. They will be looking for a sweep tonight with their ace on the mound.
Cubs vs. Cardinals DATE, TIME, AND WHERE TO WATCH
- Date: May 26, 2024
- Start Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
- Where to Watch: ESPN
Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals Prediction
The Cardinals and Cubs are head to head in the standings in the NL Central, as the Cubs are in second place with a record of 27–25, but the Cardinals are not far behind at 24–26 in third place. The Cardinals have won four games in a row and are quickly coming up on the Cubs, a gap that could get even more narrow with victory tonight at home. The Cardinals will hope to do it behind their ace, Sonny Gray.
Sonny Gray was signed from the twins this off-season and has been nothing short of excellent for St. Louis. He has a 2.87 ERA and the Cardinals are 6–2 in games he starts. Although he did have back-to-back rough outings against the Brewers and Angels in the middle of May, his most recent outing was a 5.2-inning outing, giving up just one earned run to the Orioles in a 6–3 win. When Gray stars, the Cardinals don't just have a chance to win, but it is almost expected. The Cubs will match with one of their strongest pitchers, though. Javier Assad has jumped out to a very hot start in 2024, sporting a 1.7 ERA over ten starts this year. The Cubs have won four games in a row that he starts and have gone 7–3 in his ten starts overall this season. Javier has yet to allow more than two earned runs in any outing this season and has shut down even some of the best teams in baseball. He has a 1.29 ERA in May across 21 innings in four starts. To say he is hot would be an understatement. With two of the lowest ERA pitchers in the NL right now, it only makes sense that we would take the first five under here. Both pitchers have kept the opposing lineup relatively quiet, as the Cardinals have a .184 against Javier in 38 at-bats, while the Cubs have a .269 average against Gray in 67 at-bats. These two starters should be in a pitching duel tonight and I would not be surprised to see zero runs through five innings, let alone five. Take the under here.
Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals Pick
Pick: Cubs/Cardinals First Five Innings Under 4.5 -120 Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds
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