The Chicago Cubs (56-75) and the St. Louis Cardinals (76-55) begin a 3-game series Friday. First pitch from Busch Stadium is at 8:15 p.m. ET.

Season series: Cardinals lead 10-6

The Cubs have lost 4 of their last 5 games but they took down the Toronto Blue Jays 7-5 on the road in their last contest Wednesday. Chicago pitched a bullpen game Wednesday and every starter got a hit except for 3B Christopher Morel.

The Cardinals have won 6 of their last 10 contests. They outscored the Cincinnati Reds 19-12 and took 2 of 3 contests in a 3-game road series to start the week.

Cubs at Cardinals projected starters

RHP Adrian Sampson vs. LHP Jordan Montgomery

Sampson (1-4, 3.97 ERA) makes his 13th start and 15th appearance. He has a 1.34 WHIP, 2.3 BB/9 and 6.9 K/9 through 65 2/3 IP.

• Owns an 8.10 ERA and a .407 BABIP in his last 6 2/3 IP spanning 2 starts
• Aug. 23 vs. St. Louis: 3 1/3 IP, 5 ER, 8 H, 0 BB, 2 HR, 0 K

Montgomery (7-3, 3.28 ERA) makes his 6th start for St. Louis and 27th start overall. He has a 1.04 WHIP, 1.7 BB/9 and 7.7 K/9 through 145 1/3 IP.

• Has posted a 1.76 ERA and a 0.82 WHIP across his first 5 starts for the Cardinals
• Aug. 23 at Chicago: 9 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 7 K

Cubs at Cardinals odds and lines

• Money line (ML): Cubs +200 (bet $100 to win $200) | Cardinals -250 (bet $250 to win $100)
• Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Cubs +1.5 (-108) | Cardinals -1.5 (-112)
• Over/Under (O/U): 7.5 (O: -130 | U: +105)

Cubs at Cardinals picks and predictions

Prediction

Cardinals 8, Cubs 3

Money line

The Cardinals (-250) are favored for a reason in this matchup, but I’ll PASS on the money line at the current odds. You would have to place a $250 wager just to get $100 back which isn’t a good long-term strategy.

Run line/Against the spread

The run line is where I would focus my attention in this game. Being able to get the CARDINALS -1.5 (-112) at fantastic odds feels pretty generous.

Over/Under

The wind is expected to be blowing out to left field in Friday’s showdown and Sampson owns a 1.84 HR/9 against right-handed batters, so OVER 7.5 RUNS (-130) seems to be a logical bet as St. Louis has quite a few talented righties that could result in them hitting the Over themselves.

The Over is 4-0 in the last 4 home games for the Cardinals when they face a right-handed pitcher.

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