Bodog Beat

Life is good right now if you’re the Chicago Cubs. (AP Images)

You’ve won six of your last seven games, and your 92-59 record (good for 14.85 units of profit) is the best in the National League. Chicago’s magic number to clinch the NL Central is two, with 11 games left to play.

The St. Louis Cardinals are not so hot. They’ve lost seven of their last eight to drop to 79-73 (5.48 units) and out of the Central playoff picture. It takes some of the steam out of the I-55 Series, but the Cards still have a chance to play a spoiler role by sweeping the Cubs, and it would help Albert Pujols’ MVP chances to finish the season strong.

Having Adam Wainwright (3.20 ERA, 4.11 xFIP) on the mound in Game 1 should also help. St. Louis is a good value pick at +155, but Cards don’t have the pitching to hang with Chicago in the rest of this series.