The Chicago Cubs host the St. Louis Cardinals on September 28, 2025. First pitch from Wrigley Field is scheduled for 3:20 p.m. EDT; the game will be broadcast on FDSMW.
Sunday's matchup between NL Central rivals St. Louis and Chicago will conclude the 2025 MLB regular season. The Cubs are officially locked in to the NL's top Wildcard seed and will begin a three-game series versus the San Diego Padres on Tuesday. The Cardinals are set to throw a bullpen game Sunday and will open with Kyle Leahy (3.18 ERA, 85 IP). Chicago will counter with Javier Assad (4.26 ERA, 31 and 2/3 IP).
Find my MLB betting preview and Cardinals vs Cubs prediction below, as well as probable pitchers, betting trends, injury reports and more.
My Cardinals vs Cubs Prediction
- Cardinals vs Cubs picks: Cardinals Moneyline +118 (FanDuel, Play to +110)
My Cardinals vs Cubs best bet is Cardinals Moneyline. Make sure to find the best odds by checking our live MLB odds page.
Cardinals vs Cubs Odds
| Cardinals Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+1.5 -185 | 7.5 -110o / -110u | +115 |
| Cubs Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-1.5 +155 | 7.5 -110o / -110u | -135 |
Cardinals vs Cubs Projected Starting Pitchers
| RHP Kyle Leahy (STL) | Stat | RHP Javier Assad (CHC) |
|---|---|---|
| 4-2 | W-L | 3-1 |
| 1.3 | fWAR (FanGraphs) | 0.1 |
| 3.18/4.58 | ERA /xERA | 4.26/5.06 |
| 3.07/3.77 | FIP / xFIP | 4.72/5.09 |
| 1.26 | WHIP | 1.29 |
| 14.4% | K-BB% | 4.5% |
| 43.6% | GB% | 48.0% |
| 102 | Stuff+ | 93 |
| 100 | Location+ | 98 |
Nick Martin’s Cardinals vs Cubs Preview
St. Louis Cardinals Betting Preview: Cardinals Eager To Wrap Up Difficult Season
The Cardinals will look to show some pride in Sunday's season finale, after being outscored 19-4 in the first two games of this series. Regardless of today's result, 2025 will go down as a losing season for the Cardinals, who have played to a record of 13-14 in the final 30 days of the campaign.
During their lethargic finish to the campaign, the Cardinals' offensive play has declined compared to earlier in the season, as they have hit to a wRC+ of 86 over the last month of play, while striking out 25.1% of the time. They have not been much more productive versus righties in specific, hitting to a wRC+ of 88 in the same span.
The Cardinals have been playing without two everyday position players recently, Willson Contreras and Masyn Winn, who will both remain unavailable for this matchup. Contreras reportedly informed the team that he is unwilling to waive his no-trade clause on Sunday morning.
Leahy has had a strong campaign, pitching to an ERA of 3.18 and FIP of 3.07 across 85 innings of work. He also holds a Stuff+ rating of 102 and a Pitching+ rating of 104. Many of the Cardinals' higher-quality relief options, such as Matt Swanson, Riley O'Brien and Jojo Romero are well rested, and should be prepared to work in this matchup.
Chicago Cubs Betting Preview: Cubs Limited By Resting Regulars
The Cubs look set to rest numerous regulars in this matchup as they prepare for a tough Wild Card series, even if some players have stated they prefer to stay in rhythm. The Cubs' offensive upside and defensive capabilities may be somewhat limited in this matchup as a result, and Assad appears to be a well below-average starting option.
Assad has pitched to an xERA of 5.06 and an xFIP of 5.09 this season. He holds a strikeout minus walk rate of just 4.5% and has been hard-hit 39.2% of the time. He does generate ground balls 47% of the time, but has managed to strand runners only 73.5% of the time this season, compared to a career average of 80.9%.
The Cubs may still use some of their higher-quality bullpen arms that have not worked much recently in this matchup, but will undoubtedly be basing all decisions on setting themselves up optimally for the Wild Card series.
Cardinals vs Cubs Prediction, Betting Analysis
We can call a spade a spade; this is not the most compelling matchup on what is a thrilling season-concluding slate of baseball. Only gamblers and diehard Cardinals fans may truly be into this one. Still, the current prices do look quite compelling from a betting perspective, with the Cubs currently favored despite potentially resting numerous key players.
Assad's underlying numbers are extremely shaky, and the Cardinals should be able to manage plenty of quality contact off of him in this matchup. The Cubs will likely use their high-leverage arms cautiously once Assad leaves the game, which could be a notable concern if Assad exits quickly.
The Cubs also may opt to rest as many key pieces as possible in this irrelevant matchup, given that an injury in a meaningless Game 162 would be a full-fledged disaster.
While a bullpen game doesn't offer the most convincing pitching for the Cards in this matchup, Assad is very shaky in his own right, and the Cubs are offering comparably shaky pitching and potentially an inferior lineup.
This relatively meaningless game seems like much more of a toss-up than the current betting prices suggest, and this seems to be a good spot to take a shot with the Cardinals at +118, a price that may end up moving somewhat significantly upon lineup confirmations.
Pick: St. Louis Cardinals Moneyline +118 (FanDuel, Play to +110)
Moneyline
As outlined, backing the Cardinals to win is my favorite play from this matchup.
Run Line (Spread)
Backing the Cardinals to cover the reverse run-line at +178 also looks to be a compelling option, as this could be a decent spot to bank on the volatility of a potentially thin Cubs lineup offering a lethargic performance.
Over/Under
While Wrigley Field is calling for slight winds blowing in for this matchup, my lean would still be with betting over 7.5 runs in terms of the total.
