At Busch Stadium on Friday, the St. Louis Cardinals (23-26) face the Chicago Cubs (27-24), fellow members of the NL Central, at 8:15 PM ET.

The Cardinals are an underdog (+120 on the moneyline) when they host the Cubs (-142). The scheduled starters are Shota Imanaga (5-0) for the Chicago Cubs, and Miles Mikolas (3-5) for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Friday, the Cardinals defeated the Orioles 5-4. John King was the winning pitcher after throwing two innings without giving up a hit or an earned run while striking out one. Masyn Winn led the Cardinals’ offense, going 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and an RBI.

Ahead of this Cubs vs. Cardinals showdown, here is what you need to get ready for Friday’s MLB action, including viewing options.

Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals odds and betting lines

MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Friday at 9:16 AM ET. For a full list of Sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub.

  • Favorite: Cubs (-142, bet $142 to win $100)
  • Underdog: Cardinals (+120, bet $100 to win $120)
  • Over/under: 7.5

Cubs vs. Cardinals: Live streaming info & game time

  • Game Day: Friday, May 24, 2024
  • Game Time: 8:15 PM ET
  • Stadium: Busch Stadium
  • TV Channel: Bally Sports
  • Live Stream: Fubo (Watch for free)

Cubs stats and trends

Cubs betting records

  • This season, the Cubs have been favored 20 times and won 11, or 55%, of those games.
  • Chicago is undefeated in seven games this season when favored by -142 or more on the moneyline.
  • The oddsmakers’ moneyline implies a 58.7% chance of a victory for the Cubs.
  • So far this season, Chicago and its opponents have hit the over in 21 of 51 games with a total.
  • The Cubs are 24-26-0 against the spread in their 50 chances this season.

Shota Imanaga (Cubs probable starter)

  • Imanaga (5-0 with a 0.84 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 53 2/3 innings pitched) makes the start for the Cubs, his 10th of the season.
  • The left-hander’s last time out came on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Pirates, when he tossed seven scoreless innings while giving up four hits.
  • The 30-year-old has an ERA of 0.84, with 9.7 strikeouts per nine innings, in nine games this season. Opponents are hitting .200 against him.
  • Imanaga enters this outing with six quality starts under his belt this season.
  • Imanaga will look to prolong an eight-game streak of pitching five or more innings (he’s averaging 5.9 innings per appearance).
  • He will attempt for his third straight outing without allowing an earned run.
  • He will face a Cardinals offense that ranks 29th in the league with 189 runs while batting .231 as a squad. It has a collective .361 slugging percentage (24th in MLB play) and has hit a total of 41 home runs (27th in MLB).
  • The 30-year-old ranks first in ERA (0.84), fifth in WHIP (.913), and 19th in K/9 (9.7) among qualifying pitchers in MLB action this season.

Cubs batting stats

  • The Cubs’ 48 home runs rank 19th in Major League Baseball.
  • The offense for Chicago has a slugging percentage of .368 this season, 22nd in MLB.
  • The Cubs have a team batting average of just .225 this season, which ranks 26th among MLB teams.
  • Chicago has scored the 16th-most runs in the majors this season with 218 (4.3 per game).
  • The Cubs have an OBP of .309 this season, which ranks 16th in MLB.
  • Chicago ranks 23rd with an average of 8.8 strikeouts per game.

Cardinals stats and trends

Cardinals betting records

  • The Cardinals have been victorious in 10, or 43.5%, of the 23 contests they have been chosen as underdogs in this season.
  • St. Louis has a win-loss record of 3-5 when favored by +120 or worse by bookmakers this year.
  • The Cardinals have an implied victory probability of 45.5% according to the moneyline set by oddsmakers for this matchup.
  • St. Louis and its opponents have gone over in 22 of its 48 games with a total set by sportsbooks this season.
  • In 47 games with a line this season, the Cardinals have a mark of 24-23-0 against the spread.

Miles Mikolas (Cardinals probable starter)

  • Mikolas (3-5 with a 5.77 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 53 2/3 innings pitched) makes the start for the Cardinals, his 11th of the season.
  • In his last appearance on Saturday, the right-hander went five innings against the Boston Red Sox, giving up one earned run while surrendering two hits.
  • The 35-year-old has an ERA of 5.77, with 6.6 strikeouts per nine innings in 10 games this season. Opponents are batting .294 against him.
  • Mikolas heads into this outing with four quality starts under his belt this year.
  • Mikolas will try to last five or more innings for his third straight appearance. He’s averaging 5.3 frames per outing.
  • He has not had an appearance so far in 2024 that he did not allow at least one earned run.
  • He will take the mound against a Cubs squad that is batting .225 as a unit (26th in the MLB). They are also slugging a collective .368 (22nd in the league) with 48 total home runs (19th in MLB play).
  • This season, the 35-year-old ranks 73rd in ERA (5.77), 67th in WHIP (1.396), and 68th in K/9 (6.6) among pitchers who qualify.

Cardinals batting stats

  • The Cardinals have hit the fourth-fewest home runs in MLB action this season (41).
  • This season, St. Louis ranks 24th in the majors, slugging .361.
  • The Cardinals have the 22nd-ranked batting average in the league (.231).
  • St. Louis is the second-lowest scoring team in MLB action averaging 3.9 runs per game (189 total).
  • The Cardinals’ .308 on-base percentage ranks 18th in MLB.
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