The St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs will wrap up their series on Sunday night from Busch Stadium. The Cubs and Cardinals have one of the best rivalries in all of sport, and this series always brings out the best in both teams. The series finale will take place in prime time on Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN.
The Chicago Cubs have blown past the Cardinals in the first two games of this series. The Cubs have used the home run ball to power them to a 2-0 series lead. The Cardinals have struggled to score runs all season long, and don’t appear to have enough firepower to contend in the National League Central Division. The Chicago Cubs are -119 over the Cardinals on Sunday.
Cubs Bullpen Continues to Impress
The Chicago Cubs remain in the playoff picture thanks to an impressive performance by their bullpen all season long. On Saturday night, the Cubs bullpen pitched three innings, giving up just two hits but zero runs. Newcomer Brendan Morrow has been great in his role as closer for the Chicago Cubs this season.
Javier Baez continues to lead the Cubs offense in most offensive categories. Baez leads the team in home runs with 14, and also leads the team in runs batted in with 46. The free swinging Baez has cut down on his strikeouts this season and is a big reason that the Cubs have been successful in 2018.
Flaherty Starts for Cardinals
The Cardinals will send young Jack Flaherty to the mound in the series finale. Flaherty has bounced around between the Major Leagues and AAA, but will be trying to keep the red hot Cubs offense down on Sunday night. Flaherty has been impressive in his time with the Cardinals this season, and is 3-2 with a 2.96 ERA so far in 2018.
St. Louis continues to wait for offensive production from Dexter Fowler. Fowler is hitting just .173 on the season and has seen his playing time decrease significantly. The Cardinals hoped that Fowler would be the catalyst to their offense when they signed him as a free agent before the 2017 season. The Cardinals need Fowler and company to break out the bats in a big way to avoid the three game sweep.
Cubs Win, Complete Sweep
The St. Louis Cardinals are fighting hard to stay in the playoff race, but it appears that they lack the talent necessary to keep them there. The Cardinals have struggled to score all season long, and they also can’t keep their starting pitchers healthy. It will be interesting to see what direction the Cardinals go at the trade deadline.
The Cubs came into this series struggling as an offense, but have slugged their way to two victories to start the series. The Cubs feature an explosive offense that is full of hitters that possess a keen eye and a ton of power. Look for the Cubs to continue to pound the baseball on Sunday night, and for them to leave St. Louis with a three game sweep. Bet the Chicago Cubs -119 over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday night.