St. Louis Cardinals at Chicago Cubs

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
STL	3	0	0	1	0	3	0	1	0	8	7	1
CHC	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	4	8	0

St. Louis handed the ball to Michael McGreevy, whose 4-9 record undersold a 3.53 ERA all year, while the Cubs countered with Matthew Boyd, who'd been arguably Chicago's best arm since coming back from injury. First pitch went off at 1:20 PM CT under a stretch of showers that had been hanging over Wrigley.

Show fees

FINAL

Spread

ML

Total

Cardinals(61-61)

LWWLW

8

+1.5-115+173o9.5+130

Cubs(72-51)

WLWWW

4

-1.5+113-174u9.5-130

Best BetCubs -171

Postgame

This one didn't come close. St. Louis put up 3 runs in the first inning alone and never let Chicago fully back into it, cashing an 8-4 win that made Boyd's recent form irrelevant. The bear case here — that McGreevy's record undersold him and St. Louis could erupt — is exactly what happened.

Pregame

Chicago's priced as the heavy favorite, and Boyd's form since coming back from injury backs it up — he's been the ace this rotation needed. McGreevy's 4-9 mark makes St. Louis look like an easy fade, but his 3.64 ERA says the Cardinals have been more competitive than the record shows. Still, laying the price with a rolling Cubs team that just shut this same opponent out is the right side.

Boyd took the mound with an 8-1 record, but this Cubs pitching staff was carrying weight beyond its rotation — Chicago's bullpen sheet reads like a hospital ward right now, with more than half a dozen relievers scattered across the injured list. McGreevy, on the other side, walked into Wrigley on the wrong end of a run of tough losses that had nothing to do with his stuff. The market leaned Cubs anyway, sending Chicago off as a heavy favorite with the total set near 9 and sharp money already stacked on the Under.

Michael McGreevy

(5-9)·3.54 ERA

Aug 9 vs Rockies

ND

5.2IP

3ER

4K

2BB

102P

08/15 Lineup

Matthew Boyd

(8-2)·4.15 ERA

Aug 9 @ Royals

W

7.0IP

2ER

3K

3BB

98P

08/15 Lineup

None of it held up once the game actually started. St. Louis jumped Boyd for 3 in the top of the first, Chicago answered right back with 3 of its own in the bottom of the second, and for a couple innings this looked exactly like the tight, low-scoring afternoon the board had priced.

St. Louis broke the tie for good with a run in the fourth, then blew it open with 3 more in the sixth and tacked on an eighth-inning run for good measure. The Cardinals finished with 7 hits and survived their lone error without it costing them. Chicago actually out-hit St. Louis 8-to-7, but stranded too many runners and got outscored the rest of the way in a game that had briefly looked like Boyd's to control.

St. Louis Cardinals

(61-61)

Aug 14L@ Cubs0-3

Aug 12Wvs Phillies7-1

Aug 11Wvs Phillies2-0

Aug 10Lvs Phillies5-6

Aug 9Wvs Rockies7-4

Chicago Cubs

(72-51)

Aug 14Wvs Cardinals3-0

Aug 13L@ Nationals0-7

Aug 12W@ Nationals12-6

Aug 11W@ Nationals8-6

Aug 9W@ Royals10-2

It's the latest example of a strange season for both of these clubs. St. Louis has quietly built a surprising campaign around arms like McGreevy stabilizing a rotation that looked shaky in spring. Boyd, meanwhile, has been part of the reason Chicago is fighting for playoff position down the stretch — his ERA sitting under 4 masks a run since returning from injury that's been closer to frontline production. Saturday just wasn't his day.

St. Louis Cardinals

(2)

• 60-Day-ILRamon Urias (3B) — Urias (elbows) has been sent to Triple-A Memphis to resume a rehab assignment, John Denton of Roundtable.io reports.08/04
• 60-Day-ILMax Rajcic (RP) — Rajcic revealed on his Instagram account Thursday that he recently underwent a right elbow UCL reconstruction.07/23

Chicago Cubs

(14)

• 10-Day-ILMatt Shaw (RF) — The Cubs announced Monday that Shaw recently resumed light hitting while rehabbing his sprained left hand in Arizona, MLB.com reports.08/05
• 15-Day-ILEdward Cabrera (SP) — The Cubs will activate Cabrera (hamstring) from the 15-day injured list and start him Sunday against the Cardinals, Patrick Mooney of The Athletic reports.08/14
• 15-Day-ILPhil Maton (RP) — Maton has been diagnosed with a partial patellar tendon tear in his right knee, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.08/12
• 15-Day-ILDaniel Palencia (RP) — Palencia (elbow) is slated to begin a rehab assignment Wednesday at Triple-A Iowa, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.08/05
• 15-Day-ILGavin Hollowell (RP) — The Cubs placed Hollowell on the 15-day injured list Friday with right shoulder inflammation, Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports Network reports.07/31
• 15-Day-ILHoby Milner (RP) — Milner (abdomen) began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday, tossing a scoreless inning.07/30
• 60-Day-ILBen Brown (RP) — Brown (neck) threw a bullpen session at Wrigley Field on Friday, Bruce Levine of 670TheScore.com reports.08/14
• 60-Day-ILShelby Miller (RP) — Miller (elbow) began a rehab assignment Sunday at Triple-A Iowa, striking out two batters while allowing one run on two hits and no walks.08/09
• 60-Day-ILRiley Martin (RP) — Manager Craig Counsell announced July 8 that Martin (elbow) has resumed a throwing program at the Cubs' facility in Arizona, MLB.com reports.08/06
• 60-Day-ILHunter Harvey (RP) — Harvey (triceps/shoulder) threw a bullpen session Saturday at the Cubs' facility in Arizona, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.08/05
• 60-Day-ILJustin Steele (SP) — Steele (elbow) will throw from flat ground and then toss 20 pitches off a mound Saturday, Tony Andracki of Marquee Sports Network reports.07/31
• 60-Day-ILPorter Hodge (RP) — The Cubs transferred Hodge (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Friday, Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports Network reports.05/08
• 60-Day-ILCade Horton (SP) — The Cubs transferred Horton (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Saturday, Andy Martinez of Marquee Sports Network reports.05/08
• 60-Day-ILTyler Austin (1B) — The Cubs placed Austin (knee) on the 60-day injured list Tuesday.05/08

Chicago still owns the better record and the healthier stretch of baseball behind it, but Saturday was a reminder that neither ERA nor record wins the day by itself. St. Louis leaves Wrigley with a signature win over a team fighting for its playoff life.