Cardinals vs Cubs Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for May 8 (Chicago Spoils Willson Contreras' Homecoming)

The St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs will clash for the first time this season at Wrigley Field on Monday, May 8. It's an important game for these NL Central rivals, as the Cubs will look to move above .500 while the last-place Cardinals are hoping to build momentum with their second straight win.

Monday also marks the return of Willson Contreras to Wrigley after the former Chicago catcher signed with St. Louis in the offseason, giving this game an additional element of intrigue.

Cubs vs Cardinals Game Info

• Chicago Cubs (17-17) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (11-24)
• Date: Monday, May 8, 2023
• Time: 7:40 p.m. ET
• Venue: Wrigley Field -- Chicago, Illinois
• Coverage: MLB Network

The Cubs were unable to complete a sweep of the Miami Marlins over the weekend, dropping Sunday's series finale, 5-4. The Cardinals, on the other hand, mercifully snapped their eight-game losing streak with a 12-6 rout of the Detroit Tigers on Sunday.

Cubs vs Cardinals Odds & Spread

• All MLB odds, betting lines and prop bets are available on FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: CHC: (-136) | STL: (+116)
• Spread: CHC: -1.5 (+152) | STL: +1.5 (-184)
• Total: 7 -- Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)

The Cubs enter this divisional matchup as the home favorite on the moneyline and run line at FanDuel Sportsbook. This game also features a total of just 7 runs, which is the lowest on Monday's MLB slate.

Cubs vs Cardinals Betting Trends

• The Cardinals are 5-11 straight up and 7-9 against the spread on the road this year.
• The Cubs are 10-9 straight up and 11-8 ATS at home this season.
• Both teams have losing records in their last 10 games (2-8 for St. Louis, 3-7 for Chicago).
• The Cardinals are 20-8 straight up in their last 28 games against the Cubs.

Cubs vs Cardinals Prediction & Pick

After winning 93 games and the NL Central last season, the Cardinals have gotten off to a disastrous start this year. They've plummeted to the bottom of the standings with an 11-24 record after losing 11 of their last 13 games.

The Cubs started the season hot but have regressed lately as well, falling back to .500 after dropping 10 of their last 15. They've been playing well at Wrigley Field, however, where they've won four of their last six.

St. Louis will be hard-pressed to turn things around behind starting pitcher Miles Mikolas, who enters Monday's action with a 5.79 ERA, a 1.66 WHIP and the most hits allowed in the major leagues (53). Chicago has a clear edge in the pitching matchup with Marcus Stroman (2.18 ERA, 1.09 WHIP) on the bump.

With how poorly the Cardinals have been playing lately, it's hard to see them pulling out this one on the road in a game where they're likely to fall behind early.

Final Score Prediction: Cubs: 5 | Cardinals: 3

Cubs vs Cardinals Best Bet

It's strange to see the total so low for this game, as an over/under of 7 runs is typically indicative of a matchup between two pitching aces. That's certainly not the case here, as Mikolas has been one of the least effective hurlers in baseball this year. Expect his struggles to continue against a potent Cubs offense that ranks ninth in MLB in scoring at 4.94 runs per game.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals just erupted for 12 runs against Detroit on Sunday and their team OPS is 19 points above the MLB average. They also rank third in the National League in both hits and OBP, so their lineup is capable of putting runs on the board against Stroman, who currently has the highest walk rate of his career (3.5 BB/9) and doesn't miss a ton of bats historically (career 7.5 K/9).

Expect some fireworks in this game between two dangerous offenses and look for the Over to hit.

Bet: Over 7 Total Runs (-110)

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.