Chicago Cubs vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction, 7/30/2026 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Chicago Cubs vs St. Louis Cardinals

Date: Thursday, July 30, 2026

Location: Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO

TV: Cardinals.TV

Odds/Point Spread: Chicago (-152) St. Louis (+126)

The St. Louis Cardinals (53-54) will go up against the Chicago Cubs (61-46) at Busch Stadium on Thursday. The line on this matchup has Chicago at -152 while St. Louis is at +126. The total has been set at 8.5. The starting pitchers will be Shota Imanaga and Andre Pallante.

The Cubs have compiled 178 two-baggers as a squad and have hit 133 baseballs out of the park. Chicago is slugging .417 and have been called out on strikes 923 times, while drawing a walk on 463 occasions. As a squad, the Chicago Cubs are compiling 5.2 runs per contest, which has them at 2nd in the league. They have accounted for 524 runs batted in as well as 919 hits this season, while their team batting average comes in at .250. They have 558 runs while holding a team OBP of .341.

Get all of our MLB Parlay Picks

The Cubs are sitting with a team ERA of 4.20 so far this year (14th in baseball), and their staff has struck out 827 batters. Cubs pitchers have yielded 161 home runs in addition to 470 runs (12th in baseball). Their pitching staff has walked 324 players from the other team and their FIP comes in at 4.72 as a unit over the course of the season. Chicago has surrendered 883 base hits (8.3 per 9 innings) as well as 445 earned runs. Their strikeout to walk ratio is 2.55 and their pitching staff has recorded a WHIP of 1.27.

Cubs relief pitchers have entered the contest with players on base 107 times and also have had 103 appearances in high leverage situations. The relief pitchers have 38 holds this season (29th in baseball). The Cubs relievers have accumulated a save percentage of 56.4% and have stepped onto the mound in 83 save situations. They have recorded 22 saves on the campaign and have not converted 17 of their 39 chances to save the game. The relief pitchers have inherited 154 runners on the campaign with 31.8% of those runners crossing home plate. The Cubs have dispatched 349 relief pitchers to the hill so far this year.

The Chicago Cubs have a tally of 2,860 putouts thus far, in addition to 989 assists and 41 errors. Their fielding percentage sits at .989 which puts them in 2nd in pro baseball, and have a total of 81 double plays. The Cubs have turned 71.8% of balls in play into outs out of their 8,580 innings, which has them sitting 3rd in the majors.

Imanaga has taken the hill for 439 innings and is sitting with 404 strikeouts thus far in his career. Imanaga (31-19 mark in his career) has a FIP of 3.35 while he has faced 1,748 hitters in the majors. His ERA is 3.40 (166 earned runs allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.032. He has allowed 370 base knocks (7.6 hits per 9 innings) with 83 free passes.

St. Louis has a total of 112 HRs this season to go along with 459 RBIs. They have recorded 144 two-baggers, while taking a walk 343 times as well as notching 471 runs. The St. Louis Cardinals are sitting with a team on-base percentage of .315 and a team batting average of .239 on the campaign. The Cardinals have a team slugging percentage of .380 and they earn 4.40 runs per contest (16th in MLB). They have been called out on strikes on 819 occasions (27th in MLB) and have earned 856 hits.

The Cardinals hold a team WHIP of 1.349 with a FIP of 4.12 as a squad on the year. They come in at 23rd in baseball as a staff in total hits surrendered with 930. The St. Louis pitching staff have conceded 484 runs on the campaign while having an ERA of 4.21 (447 earned runs conceded). They currently have a K/BB ratio of 7.80 (825 strikeouts vs 358 walks). They have conceded 106 long balls and they relinquish 4.56 runs per 9 innings (16th in baseball).

St. Louis bullpen pitchers hold an inherited score percentage of 35.9% out of their 170 inherited runners. Their relief pitchers have stepped onto the mound 127 times in high leverage situations in addition to 116 occasions with runners on base. With 122 save situations, the Cardinals have earned 69 holds in addition to 19 blown saves. They are ranked 16th in MLB holding a save percentage of 62.0%, and they have dispatched 359 relief pitchers to the mound for the year.

Out of their 8,598 innings on the field, the Cardinals have a efficiency on defense of 69.1% (22nd in pro baseball). The St. Louis Cardinals have gotten 97 double plays and have a fielding rate of .988 (5th in pro baseball). The Cardinals have 994 assists, 46 errors and have notched a total of 2,866 putouts over the course of the season.

In his MLB career, Pallante has allowed 576 hits while he has tallied 404 K's in 572 innings. He has conceded a total of 268 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 1.377 and a FIP of 4.2. His strikeout to walk ratio is 1.91 and he has gone up against 2,452 hitters so far in his career. Pallante (35-35 mark in his career) holds a 4.22 ERA while giving up 9.1 hits per nine innings.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread or moneyline?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take St. Louis (+126) and under 8.5 runs

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here

Get MLB picks on every single game, or if you want our very best bets by the experts, sign up for your free $60 account with a guarantee.