Cubs at Cardinals Prediction: Odds, expert picks, starting pitchers, betting trends and stats for June 26

It's Thursday, June 26 and the Cubs (47-33) are in St. Louis to take on the Cardinals (44-37). Shota Imanaga is slated to take the mound for Chicago against Andre Pallante for St. Louis.

Chicago took the third game of the series in dominant fashion, winning 8-0, after losing the first two games 8-2 and 8-7. The Cubs look to tie up the series today as Imanaga returns from an injury that cost him nearly two months.

The Cardinals are 7-2 over the last nine games and won its past two series as it attempts to make it three consecutive. The Cubbies are 2-5 in the past seven games and dropped the last two series.

Let's dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two. We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch first pitch, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.

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Game details & how to watch Cubs at Cardinals

• Date: Thursday, June 26, 2025
• Time: 2:15PM EST
• Site: Busch Stadium
• City: St. Louis, MO
• Network/Streaming: MARQ, FDSNMW

Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.

Odds for the Cubs at the Cardinals

The latest odds as of Thursday:

• Moneyline: Cubs (-136), Cardinals (+114)
• Spread:  Cubs -1.5
• Total: 9.0 runs

Probable starting pitchers for Cubs at Cardinals

• Pitching matchup for June 26, 2025: Shota Imanaga vs. Andre Pallante
  
  • Cubs: Shota Imanaga, (3-2, 2.82 ERA)
    Last outing: 5.2 Innings Pitched, 2 Earned Runs Allowed, 4 Hits Allowed, 1 Walk, and 4 Strikeouts
  • Cardinals: Andre Pallante, (5-3, 4.48 ERA)
    Last outing: 6.0 Innings Pitched, 0 Earned Runs Allowed, 3 Hits Allowed, 1 Walk, and 4 Strikeouts

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Expert picks & predictions for tonight’s game between the Cubs and the Cardinals

Rotoworld Best Bet

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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.

Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.

Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Thursday’s game between the Cubs and the Cardinals:

• Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline.
• Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the St. Louis Cardinals at +1.5.
• Total: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Game Total of 9.0.

Want even more MLB best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert MLB Predictions page from NBC.

Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Cubs at Cardinals

• At home this season the Cardinals have won 9 of 16 games following a defeat
• The Over is 23-17-2 in the Cardinals' home games this season
• The Cardinals are 7-3 in the last 10 games
• The Cubs are 5-5 in the last 10 games
• Chicago is 5-3 this season when Shota Imanaga pitches
• St. Louis is 9-6 this season when Andre Pallante pitches

If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!

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• Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
• Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper)
• Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)
• Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas)