St. Louis Cardinals at Chicago Cubs 8/22/22 - MLB Picks & Predictions

On Monday, the St Louis Cardinals open a five-game series on the road against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. St.Louis is 68-51 and one of baseball's hottest teams after defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks 16-7 for their sixth consecutive victory. Albert Pujols hit a pair of home runs in the victory for the Cardinals. St Louis is first in the National League Central, five games ahead of the second-place Milwaukee Brewers.

First baseman Paul Goldschmidt is batting .341 with 31 home runs, 100 RBIs, 145 hits and an on-base percentage of .422 to lead St Louis in each category. Third baseman Nolan Arenado is second in both home runs with 25 and RBIs with 78. On Monday, the St Louis Cardinals will send Jordan Montgomery to the mound. The left-hander is 6-3 with a 3.29 ERA, 114 Ks and 26 BBs.

The Chicago Cubs improved to 52-67 following a 6-5 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday. Willson Contreras had an RBI single that capped a rally of two runs in the 11th inning to give Chicago the walk-off win on Saturday. Chicago has won five straight and the Cubs are third in the National League Central, 16 games behind the first-place St Louis Cardinals.

Shortstop Nico Hoerner is batting .296 to lead Chicago and left fielder Ian Happ is the leader in hits with 118. Third baseman Patrick Wisdom is the leader in home runs with 22 and RBIs with 58, while catcher Willson Contreras is the leader in on-base percentage at .359. On Monday, the Chicago Cubs will send Drew Smyly to the mound. The left-hander is 5-6 with a 3.67 ERA, 65 Ks and 17 BBs.