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After going extra innings to open this series Friday night, the Cubs and Cardinals meet for Game 2 Saturday night in St. Louis. Who do we like here for our free MLB pick?
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<h2>
MLB Betting Odds<br />
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<p>
Saturday's MLB betting odds opened St. Louis at around -125 over Chicago, with an over/under of 8.5 runs. Early betting action then bumped that line up to -135.
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<h2>
Cubs vs. Cards Set-Up<br />
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<p>
St. Louis took the opener of this series Friday night 2-1 in 10 innings, cashing in as a -135 favorite on the MLB betting line. That game was tied at 1-1 in the second inning, and neither team scored until the Cardinals pushed across a run in the bottom of the tenth.
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With Friday's loss, the Cubs are just 2-6 over their last eight games.
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With Friday's victory St. Louis is still only 4-6 over its last 10 games.
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At 31-24 overall Chicago leads the NL Central by a half-game over second-place Milwaukee and by 3.5 games over the 28-28 Cardinals.
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This series is the second meeting between these teams this season. One month ago the Cubbies swept three games from St. Louis at Wrigley Field.
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<h2>
Saturday's Starting Arms<br />
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<p>
<a href="https://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=17479&position=P&quot; target="_blank" title="Jack Flaherty Pitching Stats">Flaherty</a>, by our strict standards, is only 4/11 on quality starts this season, but basically a few walks away from being three for his last three. Last Sunday he tossed six innings of three-hit, shutout ball against Atlanta, although the Cardinals lost that game 4-3. And over his last three starts, he's allowed just five runs and 10 hits through 18 innings.
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St. Louis is 5-6 with Flaherty this season and 1-4 over his last five starts, although that's not all his fault.
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<p>
In four career starts against the Cubs, three last year and one in that series a month ago, Flaherty allowed eight runs and 12 hits over 18 1/3 innings, with 28 strikeouts but also 14 walks. The Cardinals split those four games.
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<p>
Lefty <a href="http://www.espn.com/mlb/player/batvspitch/_/id/32106/jose-quintana&quot; rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Jose Quintana historical stats versus the Cardinals starting lineup">Quintana</a> is 6/10 on quality starts this season and three for his last five. Last Sunday he got bopped around by the Reds for six runs – five earned – and 12 hits over 5 1/3 innings of a 10-2 Chicago defeat. But over his previous four starts, Quintana allowed eight runs and 20 hits through 23 2/3 innings.
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The Cubs are 6-4 with Quintana this season, but only 1-3 over his last four starts.
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Over his last five starts against St. Louis, four last year and one a month ago, Quintana gave up 12 ER and 29 hits through 25 innings. Chicago lost three of those five games.
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<h2>
Saturday's Batting Splits<br />
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<p>
Chicago is batting .260/.348/.462 against right-handed pitching this season. But this lineup has also been held to three runs or less three times over its last five games.
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St. Louis is batting .239/.335/.412 against left-handed pitching this season. But this lineup has also been held to three runs or less five times over its last nine games.
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<h2>
The Bullpens<br />
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<p>
The Cubs bullpen owns a 3.93 ERA this season and a 1.44 WHIP.<br />
The Cards pen owns a 4.24 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP.
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<h2>
Totals Report<br />
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<ul>
<li>
Overs are 31-24 in Cubs games this season.
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Unders are 27-26 in Cardinals games this season.
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Unders are 14-13 in games played at Busch Stadium this season.
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