13th Oct - Cubs vs Cardinals

With their postseason existence on the line against the Chicago Cubs, it should come as no surprise that the St Louis Cardinals have once again thrown the ball to John Lackey. He has dominated this series during the 2015 season, including an excellent outing against Jon Lester in game one of this postseason match-up.

The Cardinals entered this series with good reason to feel good about a rotation that posted an MLB best combined ERA, however, the individuals have struggled to keep the Cubs’ order quiet giving up a 14 runs over the course of games 2 and 3. Still, Lackey opened with a shutout effort last Friday and he’ll enter the game four Wrigely Field game full of confidence.

For the Cubs, Jason Hammel is on the mound and he’ll be hoping that Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Starlin Castro all connect again tonight as they did for the first time in this series so far last night. Cubs’ boss Joe Maddon must have been tempted to turn to one of his already used pitchers in this series, but Hammel gets the nod. He’s not managed a win in three career postseason starts, but he had a good regular season in this rotation going 10-7 with a 3.74 ERA.

Three Reasons for Betting Tips

1. Don’t worry about three days’ rest

Lackey might’ve pitched on Friday, but we think that a veteran pitcher with his guile will be fine on that rest. Pitchers are probably pampered too much and at this stage of his career, Lackey will be extremely hungry to keep his team moving through the postseason.

2. Cardinals’ hitters step up

They’ve scored runs in all three games, just as many as the Cubs actually, but this offense needs to find a way to get “over the hump” in a big game here. Look for Matt Carpenter to be a tone setter after he had just one single in five ABs last night.

3. Like St Louis as an underdog

They’ve often played the quiet and efficient role, and we always like the Cardinals when they are underdogs, there’s terrific better than even value on a St Louis win tonight.