Chicago Cubs vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 05/31/26

Following a nail-biting 6-5 loss on Friday, the Cubs turned around on Saturday and defeated the Cardinals 6-1. Chicago was seeing the ball well, as the Cubs tallied 12 hits to power the 6 runs, but St. Louis’ 3 errors certainly helped the cause. Sunday’s rubber match will be the final game of the week in primetime on NBC, pitting a pair of lefties in Chicago’s Jordan Wicks against St. Louis’ Matthew Liberatore. 

It was a forgettable season debut for Wicks on Tuesday, as he allowed 8 earned runs on 9 hits in 4.1 innings against the Pirates. The damage came early and often with Pittsburgh scoring 5 of those runs in the first. Wicks settled in and held the Pirates scoreless in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th innings, but surrendered 3 more runs in the 5th before being yanked. On the other side, Liberatore has been okay – nothing special but usually good for at least 5 innings. He has a 4.78 ERA this month, showcasing strikeout upside with 34 Ks in 26.1 May innings. However, he can be scored on at home, where he carries a 5.16 ERA and has surrendered 17 runs in 29.2 innings – including 6 home runs in 6 home starts. In 55 career at-bats, Chicago is hitting .273 against Liberatore with 5 doubles, 2 home runs, 9 walks and 14 strikeouts. 

There could be some weather to deal with, but I like runs in this game. Liberatore has given up at 11 earned runs in his last 3 starts (14.2 innings), while Wicks has a career 5.71 ERA and 1.55 WHIP. For what it’s worth, the Cubs are 2nd in the MLB in on-base percentage against lefties, while both teams are in the top half of the league in home runs against southpaws.

Cubs vs Cardinals prediction: Over 8.5 (-105) at the time of publishing. Playable to -115.  

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