St Louis Cardinals vs Chicago Cubs Prediction, Preview and Odds - 07/05/2025

Game Time: 2:20 pm ET, Saturday, July 5, 2025

Venue:  Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL 

Where to Watch:  MLB.tv, FDSMW, MARQ

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Cardinals +100, Cubs -120; Over/Under:  10.5 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Cardinals +100, Cubs -120; Over/Under:  10.5 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Cardinals +100, Cubs -120; Over/Under:  10.5 runs

St Louis Cardinals:  47-41 (3rd place, NL Central)

Chicago Cubs:  52-35 (1st place, NL Central)

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St Louis Cardinals:  5-5 last 10

Chicago Cubs:  6-4 last 10

The Cardinals are entering this series off a loss and got swept in their 3-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-0 in their last series. They enter this game with a 47-41 record overall and have a road record of 21-24. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Cubs on Saturday with the series opener still to be played on Friday. Their offense ranks 15th in the MLB with a .716 OPS. Miles Mikolas is their starting pitcher on Friday while Matthew Liberatore is making his start in this game on Saturday. He is 6-6 with a 3.70 ERA this season. His team won their last 3 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 0 ER, 0 HR, and 5 BB with 5 SO on 3 hits through 6 IP against the Cleveland Guardians.

The Cubs are entering this series off a win and completed the sweep in their 3-game series against the Cleveland Guardians 3-0 in their last series. They enter this game with a 52-35 record overall and have a home record of 28-15. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Cardinals on Saturday with the 1st game of this series still to be played on Friday. Their offense ranks 4th in the MLB with a .768 OPS. Colin Rea is their starting pitcher on Friday while Drew Pomeranz is making his start in this game on Saturday. He is 2-1 with a 0.00 ERA this season. His team won their last 3 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 0 earned runs, 0 homers, and 0 walks with 0 strikeouts on 1 hit through 1 inning pitched against the Washington Nationals.

The current betting odds have the Cubs listed as a favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Cubs have looked great in their games this season with their 52-35 record overall which has them right at the top of the NL Central with one of the best records in the entire MLB. They have also looked great in their own ballpark this year with their 28-15 home record. Meanwhile, the Cardinals have looked good in their games this season with their 47-41 record overall which has them right in the middle of the NL Central. They haven't been a great road team though with their 21-24 road record this year. They haven't looked great lately either, going 5-5 in their last 10 games but getting shut out and swept by the Pirates in 3 games in their last series. The Cubs are starting to get hot again as they are 6-4 in their last 10 games and they have one of the best offenses in the MLB to help them out too. Liberatore is on the mound for the Cardinals in this one and he hasn't looked bad this season, but he hasn't been lights out either. He is 6-6 with a 3.70 ERA and is coming off a great start in which he gave up no runs, but that hasn't been a common theme for him this year and he hasn't been as good on the road either. The team has won 3 games in a row now with him starting, but their offense has been terrible lately so this is a game that the Cubs can win with their offense alone. The best way to place a bet here is on the Cubs to win this game. 

Cardinals Cubs Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Saturday, July 5, 2025 (2:20 pm ET start time) is Cubs 9 Cardinals 2.

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St Louis Cardinals: 200-212 (-24.5 units) on the moneyline in all games. 60-72 (-21.4 units) on the moneyline against division opponents. 56-61 (-10.8 units) on the moneyline against left-handed starters. 16-10 OVER vs. a team with a good bullpen whose ERA is 3.45 or better.

Chicago Cubs: 219-192 (+15.4 units) on the moneyline in all games. 118-87 (+15.7 units) on the moneyline in home games. 45-36 (+10.1 units) on the moneyline vs. a starting pitcher who gives up 0.5 or less HR's/start. 24-17 OVER when playing against a team with a winning record. 

St Louis Cardinals:  W. Contreras (1B) Day To Day - Hand. N. Arenado (3B) Day To Day - Finger. J. Walker (RF) Ten Day IL - Appendicitis. I. Herrera (C) Ten Day IL - Hamstring. Z. Thompson (RP) Sixty Day IL - Lat.

Chicago Cubs:  M. Amaya (C) Ten Day IL - Oblique. E. Morgan (RP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. J. Assad (RP) Sixty Day IL - Oblique. J. Steele (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow.

“I felt like he did a really nice job all the way throughout, especially on five days' rest. For him to be able to go [nine innings last time out] and then give us what he did today, I mean, that’s giving us a real shot. We just had an inability to score runs.” - Oliver Marmol after his team’s loss against the Pirates in their game on Wednesday.

“These things happen. You have to, as an organization, be prepared for the next step, the next solution. And that’s where we’ll be. There’s a little room for us to be flexible right now, and we’ll use that to our advantage and go from there.” - Craig Counsell on the injury to Jameson Taillon after his team’s win against the Guardians in their game on Thursday. 

Brendan Donovan (L) 2B

Masyn Winn (R) SS

Alec Burleson (L) RF

Willson Contreras (R) 1B

Lars Nootbaar (L) LF

Nolan Arenado (R) 3B

Nolan Gorman (L) DH

Pedro Pagés (R) C

Victor Scott II (L) CF

Ian Happ (S) LF

Kyle Tucker (L) RF

Seiya Suzuki (R) DH

Pete Crow-Armstrong (L) CF

Dansby Swanson (R) SS

Michael Busch (L) 1B

Carson Kelly (R) C

Nico Hoerner (R) 2B

Matt Shaw (R) 3B

Batting Average:  José Fermín (.500)

Hits:  Brendan Donovan (91)

Home Runs:  Lars Nootbaar (11)

RBI:  Willson Contreras (51)

Stolen Bases:  Victor Scott (22)

Wins:  Sonny Gray (8)

Saves:  Ryan Helsley (16)

ERA:  Andre Granillo (1.35)

Batting Average:  Kyle Tucker (.287)

Hits:  Kyle Tucker (93)

Home Runs:  Seiya Suzuki (23)

RBI:  Seiya Suzuki (73)

Stolen Bases:  Pete Crow-Armstrong (26)

Wins:  Matthew Boyd (8)

Saves:  Daniel Palencia (10)

ERA:  Drew Pomeranz (0.00)

Managers:

St Louis Cardinals: Oliver Marmol (4th season)

Chicago Cubs: Craig Counsell (2nd season)