Cubs at Cardinals 6/15/18 - MLB Picks & Predictions

The Chicago Cubs are off Thursday and visit the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday for the first of three games against their National League Central rivals.

The Cubs have lost two straight after falling to the Milwaukee Brewers 1-0 on Wednesday. The season long problem of leaving runners on base is catching up with the Cubs as they were shutout in back to back games by the Brewers.

With Jose Martinez out on paternity leave, Marcell Ozuna has the Cardinals leading batting average at .286. Tommy Pham has the home run lead at nine (Martinez 10) and the RBI leads in Martinez’s absence is Ozuna with 37 (Martinez 45). St. Louis has a team batting average of .243 while opposing hitters are averaging .239 at the plate against Cardinals pitching. On Friday, the Cardinals will send Michael Wacha to the mound. The right-hander this season is 8-1 with an ERA of 2.47, 67 Ks and 30 BBs.