Finally, baseball is back. On Sunday, two legendary franchises in the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs will play the first game of their respective schedules against each other in Wrigley Field. St. Louis will send ace Adam Wainwright to the mound against a Cubs’ lineup expected to make a big leap this season. Chicago counters with prized free agent acquisition Jon Lester.
Read on for more about the 2015 MLB Season opener with our complete preview below, and don’t miss our breakdown of the Blue Jays-Yankees tilt coming up on Monday.
[sc:MLBArticles ]St. Louis Cardinals vs. Chicago Cubs Preview
Where: Wrigley Field, Chicago
When: Sunday, April 5, 2015, 8:00 PM ET
Line: St. Louis Cardinals vs. Chicago Cubs – view all MLB lines
Betting on the St. Louis Cardinals
After falling to the San Francisco Giants in last season’s NLCS, the St. Louis Cardinals look to bounce back strong as they seek their their third-straight NL Central title this season. The Cards are priced +140 to win the NL Central.
[sc:MLB240banner ]St. Louis’ first assignment this season is a matchup with division up-and-comers, the Chicago Cubs. Adam Wainwright (20-9, 2.38 ERA in 2014) had a lot of success against the Cubs over the last couple of seasons. Dating back to 2012, the Cards are 8-2 in Wainwright’s last 10 starts against the North Siders, including St. 5-1 at Wrigley Field with two shutouts.
Jason Heyward’s arrival to the team should give the Cards extra-pop in their batting lineup. The former Atlanta Braves outfielder finished the 2014 regular season with 11 homers, 58 RBIs, and averages of .384 SLG and .735 OPS.
Heyward is one of the few players in the Cards’ lineup that has faced Cubs’ ace Jon Lester before. Heyward has four hits in nine at-bats (.444) against the lefty pitcher. Jhonny Peralta and Mark Reynolds, meanwhile, have gone 7-for-25 (.280) and 8-for-28 (.286), respectively, versus Lester. Heyward, Peralta, and Reynolds have hit four total home runs off Lester.
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Betting on the Chicago Cubs
There’s a lot for Cubs fans to feel optimistic about with their team entering the brand new season. With a talented cast of youngsters, a new ace in Jon Lester, and a new manager in Joe Maddon, the Cubs certainly have what it takes to make noise in NL Central. They are + 330 to win the division. For more analysis of this power-packed division, check out our complete NL Central preview.
Maddon has already penciled in Jon Lester as the team’s opening day starter, and it’s going to be interesting to see how the former Boston Red Sox ace will fare in his first start as a National Leaguer. Last season, Lester finished with a 2.46 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and 220 strikeouts in 219 2/3 innings as part of the Red Sox and Oakland A’s.
Granted that Lester pitches well on Sunday, it will likely be all for naught if the Cubs fail to give their ace enough run support. The Cubs were among the worst offensive teams last season, only coming up with 614 runs (26th in the majors). Chicago’s hitters also gave their pitchers just 3.78 runs per nine innings pitched in 2014. That being said, new acquisitions Dexter Fowler, Anthony Rizzo, and Jorge Soler, among others, seem to have the bats to spark Chicago’s offense against the Cards.
Rizzo was the most dynamic player in the Cubs’ lineup last season, when he led the team in homers (32) and RBIs (78). The first baseman had nine hits—including a home run—in 27 at-bats last season against Wainwright. Fowler, meanwhile, finished the 2014 regular season with a triple slash line of .276/ .375/ .786 as part of the Houston Astros.
The Cubs have won their last two home games against St. Louis.
Writer’s Prediction
Chicago wins, 4-3.
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