The St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs will wrap up a Tuesday doubleheader as the visitors will start Jake Woodford in a slight opener role while the Cubbies will counter with Adrian Sampson after giving rookie Javier Assad his MLB debut in the opener.
Do the Cardinals offer much value on the moneyline at -130 considering they’re going to need 15 outs from the bullpen? Find out in my free MLB picks and predictions for Cardinals vs. Cubs.
Cardinals vs Cubs Game 2 odds
This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.
This Cardinals opened as -130 moneyline favorites and haven’t moved heading into the opening game of the doubleheader where they closed as -180 favorites. The total is teetering between 8.5 and 9 after closing at 8.5 in the first game.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right up until first pitch and be sure to check out the full MLB odds before placing your bets.
Cardinals vs Cubs Game 2 predictions
- Prediction: Cardinals ML (-130)
- Prediction: Over 8.5 (-120)
- Best bet: McKinstry Under 0.5 hits (+120)
Picks made on 8/23/2022 at 3:00 p.m. ET.
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.
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Cardinals vs Cubs Game 2 game info
• Location: Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL
• Date: Tuesday, August 23, 2022
• First pitch: 8:05 p.m. ET
• TV: Bally Sports Midwest, Marquee Sports Network-Chicago
Cardinals vs Cubs Game 2 betting preview
Starting pitchers
Jake Woodford (2-0, 2.66 ERA): Woodford will be making his first MLB start today and last pitched in relief on Sunday where he threw 17 pitches. He’s never recorded more than 10 outs in any appearance and has topped out at 64 pitches. The right-hander will likely hand things over to a St. Louis bullpen that will need at least 15-18 outs. Chicago has seen him twice this season and has a .357 batting average against him across 17 plate appearances.
Adrian Sampson (1-3, 3.51 ERA): Sampson picked up his first win of the season in his last start as the right-hander has made 10 starts for the Cubs this season and has given the team decent innings. He has recorded 18 or more outs just twice and could give way to a bullpen that is dealing with injuries and likely had heavy usage in the opener. Sampson pitches to contact and sits in the Top 12% of the league in average exit velocity and hard-hit percentage.
Weather
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Key injuries
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Betting trend to know
The Cardinals are 5-0 straight up in their last five Game 2s of a doubleheader. Find more MLB betting trends for Cardinals vs. Cubs.
Cardinals vs Cubs Game 2 picks and predictions
Our side and total predictions are based upon our analysis of the line and total in this game. Our best bet is our favorite pick across all markets.
Moneyline analysis
It’s never an easy thing to handicap the second game of a doubleheader but I’m not sure the Cubs have a 50-point difference in their favor from the opening game after St. Louis closed at -180 in Game 1.
The Cubs will likely be digging into their pen in Game 1. Chicago starter Javier Assad will be making his Major League debut versus a St. Louis lineup that has the Top 2 betting favorites for the NL MVP in Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado.
Assad threw 91 pitches in his last Triple-A start last Thursday and THE BAT projects him for 83 pitches. With Adrian Sampson also failing to get deeper than 17 or 18 outs in the majority of his starts, the Cubs bullpen could be tasked with a heavy workload today.
The 50-point swing from game to game is a little too much for me considering it’s based solely on the starting pitching matchup.
Yes, the Cardinals will have to get some innings from their pen with Jake Woodruff acting as an opener, but with Adam Wainwright starting Game 1, a pitcher who averages over 19 outs a game, the relievers will be in great shape. The blueprint for the relievers in Game 2 will also be something that’s likely set up already.
The Chicago bullpen has been a Bottom-10 unit all season and over the last 30 days, owns a -0.2 WAR which ranks 29th in the league.
There are a lot of moving pieces to the second game of a doubleheader, but the books are giving the home side too much of an advantage here just because the Cardinals are using an opener. Coupled with the potential for usage in Game 1 for the Chicago relievers, I see the Cards as shorter than -130 favorites thanks to a lineup that is substantially better offensively.
Prediction: Cardinals moneyline (-130 at DraftKings)
Over/Under analysis
Lineups are always hard to assess for a doubleheader but with the Cardinals in a serious playoff race, the middle of this order will likely be rolled out in back-to-back games and with Albert Pujols swinging a hot bat, the Cardinals have a lot of options off the bench for later inning heroics.
The Cubs will also have their best bats in the lineup as Wilson Contreras got the first game off as well as starting second baseman, Nick Madrigal.
Sampson started the season in the pen but graduated to the rotation in late June. He has spent half of his career as a reliever and is an average MLB starter at best. He’s a former fifth-round pick that has a 4.77 ERA over his five-year career. He is being priced as the much better starter but he is anything but a dominant talent.
The Cardinals’ bullpen will need to eat multiple innings in the nightcap and although they are the better group, this unit has not been lights out this season. They own a 3.70 ERA on the season which ranks 13th but things have been more difficult of late.
Over the last 30 days, the St. Louis relievers are pitching to a 4.56 ERA and if closer Giovanny Gallegos or setup man Genesis Cabrera pitch in the opener, they might not be available for the second game as they both enter today having pitched on Saturday and Sunday.
Without knowing the bullpen usage in Game 1, playing this Over 8.5 is more of a lean than a play for me. However, if each team uses at least three relievers in the afternoon game, I’ll be hitting the Over 8.5 with no issues.
Prediction: Over 8.5 (-120 at BetMGM)
Best bet
Zack McKinstry started Game 1 of the doubleheader in place of Nick Madrigal but will likely hit the bench or move down the lineup in the nightcap after leading off in the opener.
He hasn’t started in three of his last five games but did get a pinch-hit in the games he sat. If I can project his total plate appearances for under 4.00 and get his Under 0.5 hits at plus money, I’m game.
THE BAT has him as a near-20% pinch-hit risk and hitting in the eighth spot in the second game. There is a good chance he doesn’t even start, but if he does, I’m getting a .164 hitter who likely won't see four trips to the dish.
With the Cards using an opener, McKinstry could lose the matchup game if St. Louis brings in a lefty as the Cub utility hitter has seen just two plate appearances vs. southpaws this season and is hitless.
Zach McKinstry Prop: Under 0.5 hits (+120 at bet365)
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