Chicago Cubs at St. Louis Cardinals

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
CHC	1	1	1	0	2	0	0	0	2	7	14	0
STL	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	3	7	1

David Peterson takes the ball for Chicago at 6:45 PM CT looking to build on a strong stretch since the Cubs plucked him from the Mets in late June. Matthew Liberatore counters for St. Louis, trying to shake off a rough last outing against the Angels where he couldn't get out of the sixth inning.

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FINAL

Spread

ML

Total

Cubs(59-46)

LWWLW

7

-1.5+138-113o9.5+106

Cardinals(53-52)

LWLLW

3

+1.5-141+113u9.5-106

Best BetCubs -124

Pregame

The Cubs are the better team by record and were the shorter price for a reason — Peterson's been a stabilizing force in the rotation and St. Louis has been giving games away late. St. Louis has actually taken 4 of 6 meetings this year, so there's real evidence they can beat this Cubs roster, but the current form gap favors Chicago walking out of Busch Stadium with a win.

Peterson has been a legit midseason pickup, holding opponents to 2 runs or fewer in 3 of his 4 starts since the trade, including a clean 6.2-inning win over Detroit his last time out. The catch: this exact Cardinals lineup rocked him for 10 earned runs back on July 3, so St. Louis is the one team that's already seen him get hit hard. Liberatore, for his part, has had success against the Cubs over his career, but his command has wavered lately — 9 hits and 2 walks allowed in his last start is not the recipe for shutting down a lineup that's rolling.

David Peterson

(6-7)·5.35 ERA

Jul 21 vs Tigers

W

6.2IP

0ER

4K

1BB

94P

07/27 Lineup

Matthew Liberatore

(5-9)·5.15 ERA

Jul 21 @ Angels

L

5.1IP

5ER

7K

2BB

95P

07/27 Lineup

The bigger story for St. Louis right now isn't the rotation, it's the bullpen. The Cardinals blew a lead and lost in extra innings to the Reds on Sunday, the latest in a run of late-game meltdowns that's kept a .500-ish team from separating itself. Chicago isn't exactly flush in relief either — Craig Counsell is working without Daniel Palencia, Phil Maton, Ben Brown, Ethan Roberts and more, all currently on the shelf, which is part of why a 7-1 laugher in Pittsburgh nearly slipped away Sunday.

Chicago Cubs

(14)

• 10-Day-ILMatt Shaw (RF) — Shaw is still feeling discomfort related to his left hand sprain and has yet to resume swinging a bat, Vinnie Duber of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.07/18
• 15-Day-ILDaniel Palencia (RP) — Cubs manager Craig Counsell said that Palencia (elbow) is scheduled to throw an up-and-down bullpen session Tuesday, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.07/26
• 15-Day-ILPhil Maton (RP) — The Cubs placed Maton on the 15-day injured list Monday with right knee tendinitis, Patrick Mooney of The Athletic reports.07/20
• 15-Day-ILBen Brown (RP) — Cubs manager Craig Counsell said Friday that Brown (neck) has begun to increase his activity and has taken part in workouts with plyometric balls, MLB.com reports.07/20
• 15-Day-ILEthan Roberts (RP) — Roberts (forearm) tossed a perfect inning in a rehab appearance Sunday with Triple-A Iowa.07/20
• 15-Day-ILEdward Cabrera (SP) — Manager Craig Counsell said Friday that the Cubs expect Cabrera (hamstring) to return from the injured list in the second week of August, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.07/18
• 15-Day-ILHoby Milner (RP) — Manager Craig Counsell said Friday that Milner (abdomen) will likely return from the injured list sometime around Aug. 1, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.07/18
• 15-Day-ILRiley Martin (RP) — The Cubs announced June 10 that Martin (elbow) has resumed playing catch, MLB.com reports.06/22
• 60-Day-ILShelby Miller (RP) — The Cubs announced July 5 that Miller (elbow) has resumed a throwing program in Arizona, MLB.com reports.07/20
• 60-Day-ILHunter Harvey (RP) — Manager Craig Counsell said July 8 that Harvey (triceps/shoulder) has resumed a throwing program at the Cubs' facility in Arizona, but the right-hander remains without a clear timeline for a return from the 60-day injured list, MLB.com reports.07/20
• 60-Day-ILJustin Steele (SP) — Steele (elbow) was cleared to begin ramping up his throwing program Tuesday, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.07/08
• 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

St. Louis Cardinals

(4)

• Day-To-DayRiley O'Brien (RP) — O'Brien was unavailable to pitch in Sunday's 5-3 extra-inning loss to the Reds due to illness, John Denton of Roundtable.io reports.07/27
• 15-Day-ILJoJo Romero (RP) — The Cardinals do not expect Romero (appendicitis) to be ready for activation from the 15-day injured list when first eligible, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.07/19
• 60-Day-ILRamon Urias (3B) — Urias (elbows) has been sent to Triple-A Memphis and will begin a rehab assignment Saturday, Amber Winkler of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.07/23
• 60-Day-ILMax Rajcic (RP) — Rajcic revealed on his Instagram account Thursday that he recently underwent a right elbow UCL reconstruction.07/23

Chicago's offense has had its foot on the gas all week, dropping 11 runs on Detroit and again on Pittsburgh inside a five-game stretch, and even in the 8-7 finale loss to the Pirates, Seiya Suzuki's ninth-inning homer nearly completed a wild comeback from a six-run hole. That kind of firepower traveling into a shaky Cardinals bullpen is a bad matchup for St. Louis on paper.

Chicago Cubs

(59-46)

Jul 26L@ Pirates7-8

Jul 25W@ Pirates11-0

Jul 24W@ Pirates3-2

Jul 23Lvs Tigers1-5

Jul 22Wvs Tigers11-2

St. Louis Cardinals

(53-52)

Jul 26Lvs Reds3-5

Jul 25Wvs Reds7-0

Jul 25Lvs Reds2-4

Jul 23Lvs Diamondbacks6-10

Jul 22W@ Angels1-0

Don't sleep on the Cardinals completely, though — they've won the season series 4-2 so far and know how to slow this Cubs lineup down when their rotation gives them length. St. Louis just needs someone other than the bullpen to close the door, and right now that's the question nobody in the clubhouse has a great answer for.