Friday Night Baseball: Cardinals vs. Cubs Prediction

This is the final series of the regular season. The St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs are two teams that are opposites in their division. This Friday night NL Central battle focuses on significant advantages to determine who wins this Cardinals vs. Cubs prediction.

Friday Night Baseball: Cardinals vs. Cubs Prediction

The Cubs spent the second half of the season selling off their team and giving up on their season. On the other hand, the Cardinals strung together 17 wins in a row to catapult themselves into the postseason. St. Louis needs to continue winning to keep their momentum heading into the playoffs.

Sipping piña coladas

Chicago will send Zach Davies to the mound for his final appearance of 2021. Davies has struggled to finish this season. He has a 5.78 ERA over the whole year but has ballooned to a 15.32 ERA for September. He has allowed a minimum of four runs in each of his four September starts.

The last time Davies took the mound, he faced these same Cardinals during their winning streak, and he surrendered six earned runs in just two innings. The Cubs rank in the bottom third in MLB in nearly every offensive category, including batting average with RISP. They are eighth-worst in wRC+ (87) versus right-handed pitchers.  

It’s playoff time

St. Louis clinched another playoff berth due to their incredible winning streak. They have strung together timely hitting and done the necessary work to get them to this point. Look for St. Louis to finish the season strong and not jinx their current momentum.

Facing off against Davies will be Dakota Hudson for the Cardinals. Starting for the second time since Tommy John surgery, Hudson should round back into the same form he was showing prior to the injury.

He is a phenomenal ground ball pitcher with a 3.20 career ERA. He faced the Cubs for his first appearance back and will meet them again for his second appearance. If he can continue to build from each previous performance, Hudson should return to form in no time.

Cardinals vs. Cubs prediction and pick

Cubs pitcher Zach Davies has completely fallen apart this season, especially as of late. Expect that to continue against the hottest team in baseball in the Cardinals. Hudson became one of the best ground ball pitchers in the league before his injury and established himself as one of St. Louis’ most reliable pitchers.

Expect both pitchers to continue doing what they have as of late and for St. Louis to win this game comfortably by a projected model score of 7.34 to 4.40.

Take the Cardinals -1.5 runline (+100 at FD Sportsbook) and enjoy a comfortable Cardinals victory here.