Cubs vs. Cardinals Prediction, Odds, Probable Pitchers and Prop Bets for Monday, June 23

The NL Central has been one of the most interesting divisions in baseball this season, and two of its biggest rivals – the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals – kick off an early week series on Monday.

Sportsbooks have this game set as a toss-up, even though the Cubs have a 4.5-game lead in the division over the Cardinals. St. Louis is in third place, as the Milwaukee Brewers (winners of four in a row) have jumped into the No. 2 spot, sitting 3.5 games back.

Chicago has Ben Brown (5.57 ERA) on the mound in this series opener, and he’ll take on St. Louis lefty Matthew Liberatore (4.08 ERA).

With the Cubbies battling for the best record in the National League, they’d love to create some distance between themselves and this Cardinals squad, which has played very well at home (24-15) in 2025.

Let’s examine the latest odds, players to bet on in the prop market, and my prediction for Monday’s action.

Cubs vs. Cardinals Odds, Run Line and Total

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Run Line

Cubs -1.5 (+144)
Cardinals +1.5 (-177)

Moneyline

Cubs: -111
Cardinals: -109

Total

9 (Over -105/Under -116)

Cubs vs. Cardinals Probable Pitchers

Chicago: Ben Brown (4-5, 5.57 ERA)
St. Louis: Matthew Liberatore (4-6, 4.08 ERA)

Cubs vs. Cardinals How to Watch

Date: Monday, June 23
Time: 7:45 p.m. EST
Venue: Busch Stadium
How to Watch (TV): FDSMW, MARQ
Cubs record: 46-31
Cardinals record: 42-36

Cubs vs. Cardinals Best MLB Prop Bet

Cubs Best MLB Prop Bet

Seiya Suzuki to Hit a Home Run (+330)

There haven’t been many hitters in MLB that have hit left-handed pitching as well as Suzuki, which makes him an interesting prop target – and one I shared in today’s best home run picks – against the Cardinals:

Chicago Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki has been one of the best power hitters in the National League this season, hitting 20 homers while posting a .539 slugging percentage and an .851 OPS.

He’s been dominant against left-handed pitching, hitting .319 with a .405 on-base percentage and eight home runs. Suzuki is averaging one homer for every nine at-bats he has against left-handed pitching in 2025.

So, I love this prop for him against St. Louis Cardinals lefty Matthew Liberatore on Monday.

Liberatore enters this start with a 4.08 ERA, allowing just seven homers in 14 outings. Still, five of those seven homers have come in his last five starts, so I think there is some value in getting Suzuki at this number.

Cubs vs. Cardinals Prediction and Pick

These two teams are two of the best OVER squads in MLB, and they come into this game ranking No. 2 (Chicago) and No. 9 (St. Louis) in runs scored.

The Cubs have an OVER record of 39-31-7 (No. 3 in MLB) while the Cardinals aren’t far behind at 41-33-4. Even if you take the trends away, there are a few reasons to bet the OVER in this matchup.

Starting with Brown, who has struggled to the tune of a 5.57 ERA and 4.43 expected ERA, the Cubs don’t play many low-scoring games when he’s on the mound. Chicago reached nine runs in nine of the 15 outings for Brown this season, and the righty has a 5.98 ERA over his last 10 outings.

He’s allowed six or more earned runs in four of those 10 appearances.

Meanwhile, Liberatore has been awful in June, allowing 22 hits and 14 runs in 15.0 innings of work – good for an ERA of 8.40. Not only that, but Liberatore has given up five or more runs in three of his last four starts.

Since these are two of the best-scoring offenses in the league, I think the OVER is a great bet with this total set at just nine runs.

Pick: OVER 9 (-105 at DraftKings)

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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