The high-flying 9-1 Cardinals crushed the Cubs last night. They have fine starting pitching and the hottest offense in the league. Mikolas starts for St. Louis today. He has rebounded well after a 10 run debacle vs the Rockies in Denver, tossing a pair of 8 inning starts and giving up just 3 runs total. He faced the Cubs in August, allowing 3 runs in 6+ innings.

The 6-4 Cubs appear to be short on starters and have brought up Luke Farrell for today’s start. Farrell has some previous experience in the Bigs, but has spent the year in Triple A where his numbers were not overpowering. He hasn’t been a starter this year so don’t expect a lengthy outing.

The Cubs have been up and down in offense this season. At the moment, they are down at just .192/.584 OPS in the last week. Comparing relief pitching, the Cubs’ pen has scrambled lately to an ERA of over 6.00. The Cardinals, you guessed it, are getting fine relief pitching on top of everything else.

All roads lead to a Cardinals’ victory. I am taking them on the run line at -1 ½. 9*!