Cubs at Cardinals Prediction: Odds, expert picks, starting pitchers, betting trends, and stats for June 23
It's Monday, June 23 and the Cubs (46-31) are in St. Louis to take on the Cardinals (42-36). Ben Brown is slated to take the mound for Chicago against Matthew Liberatore for St. Louis.
The Cubs are 3.5 games ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers but are just .500 in their last 10 games. They recently dropped their series with the Mariners 2-1. They were outscored 30-20.
Advertisement
The Cardinals have been on a slight hot streak. They have won six of their last 10 games and back-to-back 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 how to catch tipoff, 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.
Follow Rotoworld Player News for the latest fantasy and betting player news and analysis all season long.
Game details & how to watch Cubs at Cardinals
Date: Monday, June 23, 2025
Time: 7:45PM EST
Site: Busch Stadium
City: St. Louis, MO
Network/Streaming: FanDuel Sports Network Midwest, Marquee Sports Network
Advertisement
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 Monday:
Moneyline: Cubs (-109), Cardinals (-110)
Spread: Cardinals 1.5
Total: 9.0 runs
Probable starting pitchers for Cubs at Cardinals
Pitching matchup for June 23, 2025: Ben Brown vs. Matthew Liberatore
Cubs: Ben Brown, (4-5, 5.57 ERA)
Last outing (Milwaukee Brewers, 6/17): 5.0 Innings Pitched, 2 Earned Runs Allowed, 6 Hits Allowed, 2 Walks, and 5 Strikeouts Cardinals: Matthew Liberatore, (4-6, 4.08 ERA)
Last outing (Chicago White Sox, 6/17): 6.0 Innings Pitched, 2 Earned Runs Allowed, 5 Hits Allowed, 0 Walks, and 4 Strikeouts
Rotoworld still has you covered with all the latest MLB player news for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries, and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions, and news type!
Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Cubs at Cardinals
The Cardinals have won 4 of their last 5 home games against NL Central teams
Each of the Cubs' last 3 games at the Cardinals have gone over the Total
The Cardinals have failed to cover the Run Line in 6 of their last 7 home games
Advertisement
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!
Expert picks & predictions for tonight's game between the Cubs and the Cardinals
Rotoworld Best Bet
Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.
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.
Advertisement
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 Monday's game between the Cubs and the Cardinals:
Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the St. Louis Cardinals on the Moneyline.
Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Chicago Cubs 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
Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


New York Times
39 minutes ago
- New York Times
Game 7 of Thunder-Pacers was most-watched NBA Finals game since 2019
The NBA viewership story was bailed out by the two most beautiful words in sports: Game 7. Oklahoma City's 103-91 win over Indiana on Sunday night averaged 16,353,000 viewers on ABC and ESPN+ and peaked with 19,281,000 viewers from 9:45-10 p.m. ET. That made Sunday night's game the most-watched NBA Finals game since Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals between the Raptors and Warriors, which drew 18.3 million viewers. Advertisement The seven-game series finished with an average of 10.266 million viewers, down from the 11.3 million average for the five-game series last year between the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks. Was market size a factor? Indianapolis is the 25th-largest media market in the country and Oklahoma City is No. 47. The series was trending much further down before Game 7's big number. Clearly, a significant number of people decided to watch this series only for its final game. Sports Business Journal's Austin Karp offered an interesting comparison for context: The NBA's Game 7 viewership was roughly in line with the 16.6 million viewers who watched Texas-Georgia in the SEC Football Championship in December. ESPN said its audience for the entire 2025 NBA Playoffs across ESPN and ABC — 34 games — averaged 6,118,000 viewers, up 10 percent from 2024. The league's television story will have a new look when play begins in the fall, with the NBA renewing its partnership with ESPN/ABC and forming new agreements with NBCU and Amazon as part of a combined $77 billion deal which starts with the 2025-26 season and runs through the 2035-36 season. (Top photo of Pascal Siakam and Jalen Williams: Matthew Stockman / Getty Images)


New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Fanatics Fest 2025: The coolest things we saw (and didn't see)
Fanatics Fest might be the best value for money in sports today. Anyone who hasn't attended either of the three-day events held at New York's Javits Center might find that shocking, but its case has only strengthened from year one to year two of its existence. Yes, there are a plethora of pricey merch, trading card, autograph and photo opportunity offerings that can easily skyrocket the total cost of a day at the fest (a single-day entry ticket was $60 for adults and $30 for kids this year), but all of those elements are shockingly non-essential to having a fun and unique experience that's almost entirely different from someone else there at the same time. Advertisement At most events, you might need to be in the exact right spot at the exact right time in order to witness the one viral moment that takes place there. At Fanatics Fest this year, moments like that were happening all the time, everywhere, and involving some of the biggest athletes and celebrities in the world all throughout the three days. It was honestly both impressive and overwhelming. Everyone who attended for The Athletic agreed that they left each day of the event feeling like they saw first-hand a dizzying array of notable things and experiences, only to get back to their hotel room each night and pull up their social media feeds to see a dozen other interesting moments they had missed. '(Fanatics Fest) makes people love Fanatics,' said Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin. 'The way we can pull together 300 of the world's best athletes, artists, celebrities together with every sport in the world that matters and have them all in one place. … We invest a lot of money in this. We lose a lot of money doing this. But this is the way we tell the Fanatics story. We have all of our businesses here. We bring everything here. It's just the way we want to tell our story. … Putting this on is harder than running our three businesses (commerce, collectibles, and betting) combined.' Rubin estimated that Fanatics lost around $15 million on last year's event, which was significantly smaller than this year's. Attendance in year one was around 75,000 and in year two it exceeded 125,000, according to the company. First and foremost this year, there were the news events that played out over the three days — from Victor Wembanyama speaking publicly for the first time since his injury to Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris buying a $500,000 Jayden Daniels rookie card at Topps trade night (a free after-hours event at the venue on Saturday night that was open to all attendees) with Daniels standing beside him to Kevin Durant's trade to the Houston Rockets being announced for the first time while he was on stage. Then there were the countless other moments that filled everyone's social media timelines. It would be impossible to list them all here, so here are just some of our favorites. Coolest thing I saw: It will be hard for me to ever forget the image of the 7-foot-3 Victor Wembanyama standing in bath robes and then shirtless next to the 5-foot-4 Kevin Hart to open a live episode of Hart's 'Cold as Balls' podcast during Saturday's session. Rubin had custom metal tubs designed for Wembanyama and Hart, which properly suited each star given their uniquely varying heights. Advertisement There were several star-studded panels throughout the weekend I attended, including 'The Shop Live' with LeBron James, Tom Brady, and Wembanyama, that brought out the seriousness of the event's star power. As well as a panel with Rubin, Brady and musician Travis Scott, that basically turned into a reason for Scott to perform a brief, but rowdy set. Still, Wemby's comfort level and demeanor felt natural and likable, even with so much attention attached to him during a blockbuster event. Coolest thing I didn't see: Tom Brady made more appearances at the Fest seemingly than Rubin himself. And that's saying something given how much Rubin relishes being front and center of the sports mastodon he created. I watched Brady serve as a guest on numerous panels, I watched him participate in live card box breaks and cram into his own sports card vault with buddy Mark Wahlberg. But man, I wished I could've witnessed firsthand Brady's journey through the Fanatics Games. I knew the absurdly competitive Brady would take this competition against fellow athletes, celebrities, and 50 fans seriously. But it still sort of surprised me that he won it, given how many active elite athletes participated (Brady divided up his $1 million prize by buying the rare LeBron James rookie card won by the fan who finished third for $250,000 and promised $5,000 to each of the 49 other fans who participated). The showstopper occurred when Brady strutted down the makeshift WWE aisle for the superstar entrance portion of the competition, tearing up a Giants jersey only to be 'attacked' from behind by Eli Manning. Brady carried Manning on his back back to the 'dressing room.' It's chaos at @FanaticsFest! 👀@TomBrady just ripped up an @EliManning jersey, and that wasn't going to fly with Eli! 🤣@Fanatics — WWE (@WWE) June 20, 2025 —Larry Holder The coolest thing I saw: It wasn't a thing, it was a vibe: tens of thousands of people who have eschewed cool-guy aloofness and opted instead to enthuse unironically — sharing in the thing they love most. I saw yolked-up dudes cry meeting their sports heroes. I saw grandmothers scream over Kevin Costner (and wolf-whistle when he said his sports films succeeded 'because they were about girls'). I saw little kids holding hand-painted posters watching their parents compete in the Fanatics Games. I sat on a railing with LeBron fans while the tallest guy offered to hold up each person's camera to get a good shot of their idol. I stood on a shaky, over-crowded bleacher next to a mom whose son was competing against Joey Chestnut in a Raising Cane's chicken finger eating contest. (Sorry to say Joey Chestnut obliterated him.) Raising Cane's was insane today 🤩🔥 — Fanatics (@Fanatics) June 21, 2025 The coolest thing I didn't see: By the time I heard Victor Wembanyama was downstairs playing chess against 100 fans, it was too crowded to see. I heard 15 minutes too late that Joe Burrow was throwing pitches on the other side of the expo floor (reportedly, not well!). I saw Livvy Dunne in the eating contest (on a team with DJ Khaled, Druski, and Rubin, lmao) but I missed when she bought a rare Paul Skenes baseball card. I asked Cam Jordan about something he's been gifted that he considers a priceless collectible ('Me!'), and RG3 showed me one of his favorite pairs of socks (Ninja Turtles), but I didn't get to see Tom Brady challenge Eli Manning on the WWE floor, either. Advertisement The place was suffused with a sense of serendipity mixed with panic, because you had to be in the right place at the right time. I think that was both wonderful and maddening: Fans had the unimaginable opportunity to be up close and personal with Tom Brady, but you also had to take your life in your hands fighting through the crowd to get there. The love of collecting is something like hunger for a quest — pursuing a potentially unattainable goal with a blend of joy, dogged persistence and a touch of lunacy. Not unlike the Fanatics Fest experience. —Hannah Vanbiber Coolest thing I saw: Watching Joe Montana, Dan Marino and Jayden Daniels on a panel moderated by Taylor Rooks was quite the scene. The crowd was predominantly pro-Jayden but everyone enjoyed the insights of Montana (the former/still GOAT?) and Marino (a downfield deep ball passer ahead of his time). Marino got the most laughs out of the crowd not being able to resist a deflated balls joke about his former AFC East rivals. Both legendary former quarterbacks had nothing but good things to say about Daniels and his historic rookie season. Daniels seemed to be genuinely appreciative of the praise he received face to face with two of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play, especially the praise from Montana, who Daniels admitted was his father's favorite, and who he was told to emulate as a California kid dreaming of being a quarterback one day. If you were a paying customer and willing to wait in line (assuming you didn't purchase VIP access), candid conversations with sports stars were everywhere on various stages. Coolest thing I didn't see: Kevin Durant being traded in real time and finding out about it while on stage Sunday might have been the wildest moment of Fanatics Fest among many contenders. The buzz in the crowd seemed like a collective 'I can't believe this happened right now.' For all the many things that may have been pre-arranged at Fanatics Fest, the Durant trade seemed like organic magic for those in attendance. The crowd couldn't believe what just happened 🤯 — Fanatics (@Fanatics) June 22, 2025 —David Betancourt The coolest thing I saw was completely unexpected — the Grays Sports Almanac from 'Back to the Future II.' Not the one you can get easily as a mere replica. But the one that was screen-used in the movie. One personally owned by Michael J. Fox sold for $30,625 last year, which seems like a bargain, frankly. I'm not sure if Fanatics is testing the water at Fanatics Fest with this one movie memorabilia exhibit. But it makes sense that Topps, given their involvement with Marvel and Star Wars and various non-sports celebrities, would get into this space. Advertisement Screen used Hollywood memorabilia is usually one of one, at least when tied to a scene or a shot in a famous movie. And I guess it could be 'cardified,' for lack of a better term. Maybe they chop up Dorothy's slippers into 200 pieces and embed those pieces into 200 cards. That seems borderline criminal but they do the same thing with iconic jerseys and Babe Ruth bats. (Don't worry, 'Wizard of Oz' fanatics; Dorothy's actual slippers are safe in the Smithsonian.) They found Bruce the Shark from Jaws (one of them) in a junkyard, where it was languishing. So it's not crazy to think the outer rubberized skin and teeth can end up being slabbed. Maybe one day they'll do the same thing with the Mona Lisa! Objectively, the coolest thing I missed at the show, which was mostly a cultural event and not much of a memorabilia show for my vintage tastes, was the Travis Scott concert. But personally, I wish I saw Burrow struggle so mightily to hit a stationary strike zone with a baseball that it seemed like a put on. Joe Burrow pitches … just a bit outside 😅⚾️ — MLB (@MLB) June 22, 2025 —Michael Salfino The coolest things I saw: I was able to check out the 'Netflix Sports Club.' My favorite part of the experience was the golf simulator and putting green to promote Adam Sandler's Happy Gilmore 2. The putting green looked like it was taken straight out of the first movie, featuring Happy's boots and the one-eyed alligator holding Chubbs' wooden hand. The putter you use is even a replica of Happy's famous hockey stick putter, which will be officially available for purchase following the movie release. Fans also received a mini movie poster and a small box of 'Shooter McGavin's Pieces of S*** For Breakfast' cereal — a nod to the hilarious scene in the first film. I'm being told @netflix is handing these out at Fanatics Fest. Hilarious. — Shooter McGavin (@ShooterMcGavin_) June 20, 2025 The MLB activation also brought a fun ballpark experience, featuring a pitching cage with speed radar and one-of-a-kind baseball memorabilia on display. Some of the unique pieces shown included the 2023 World Baseball Classic trophy and a Julio Rodriguez Autographed 2022 Home Run Derby graffiti-design bat. The coolest things I didn't see: I missed out on the Topps trade night and the Commanders owner purchasing Daniels' 1/1 Prizm Black Finite rookie card from dealer Roth Cards for a whopping $500,000. I also didn't get the opportunity to see any of the panels at The Theatre due to its confusing entrance and location on Level 1. This, combined with how large and separated the two show floors were throughout the Javits Center, I found myself spending most of my time where the brand/league activations and card dealers were located on Level 3. —Tyler Holzhammer The coolest thing I saw: The fact that every athlete or celebrity I saw was fully bought into the spirit of the event and not just going through the motions or there to collect a check. Fanatics got a ton of huge names — not the long-forgotten or unknown benchwarmers — to engage with fans and act goofy and seemingly have actual fun. That's what really puts this event over the top. To that point, John Cena was the MVP of Fanatics Games. He did everything in his power not to win it (presumably so the fans who were competing could have a better shot at the prizes), but he did it in the most creative way possible. His six-ball pitching demonstration and power punch were highlights. Can't see him in anything 🚫🤣 @WWE — Fanatics (@Fanatics) June 21, 2025 Speaking of wrestlers, the WWE entrances were so fun. Not just the ones performed by the athletes and actual WWE superstars, but the ones all the fans did, ranging from little kids jumping around in fake mullets and beards to adults who meticulously re-enacted their favorite wrestler's every movement. At one point on Saturday I realized I had been standing there watching these for over an hour with a smile on my face the whole time. The very best one came on Friday, when a Macho Man Randy Savage impersonator did his entrance in a full St. Louis Cardinals uniform, with 'Poffo' printed on the back (Savage's real last name) and a Slim Jim in hand. Why a Cardinals uniform? Poffo/Savage was signed by the organization as a catcher out of high school. Impressive. The coolest thing I didn't see: Two stand out. First, Wemby playing chess against 100 fans — many of whom apparently did not know how to play chess. A post shared by Fanatics (@fanatics) And Durant, sitting in the balcony of the temporary 40/40 club built inside the venue that served as a refuge for the VIPs, graciously holding out his hands for one of the fans down below to throw him an item to sign, only for a bunch of people to all chuck things at him at once. A post shared by Fanatics Sportsbook (@fanaticssportsbook) —Brooks Peck The Athletic maintains full editorial independence in all our coverage. When you click or make purchases through our links, we may earn a commission. (Top photo of Tom Brady:for Fanatics)


Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
INDYCAR Power Rankings: Who Joins Alex Palou In Moving Up?
Alex Palou is back on top. No surprise after his sixth victory of the season Sunday at Road America. And the driver who finished second to him, Felix Rosenqvist, is back in these power rankings. He and David Malukas are now on the list. Off the list? All the Penske drivers. Hard to fathom but they just have not had the results in recent weeks. They've had speed. It would be no surprise to see any of them win a race. But their recent results have to be frustrating. They've got no top 10s in the last two races. Here are the power rankings after back-to-back race weekends. The series has an off-week coming up, before four consecutive weeks of racing at Mid-Ohio, Iowa, Toronto and Laguna Seca. Dropped out: Will Power (Last Week: 6), Scott McLaughlin (LW: 10) On the verge: Scott McLaughlin, Josef Newgarden, Will Power 10. Colton Herta (LW: 8) Herta was 16th at Road America and just did not have a good weekend. Yes, Power was ahead of him on the list previously and finished a couple of spots ahead of him on Sunday, but Herta has earned more points than Power over the last month, keeping Herta on the list. 9. David Malukas (LW: NR) A seventh-place finish was his second top 10 in the last four races with the other finishes in the top 15. The A.J. Foyt Racing driver is grinding out good finishes, despite having some adversity in races. 8. Marcus Armstrong (LW: 9) Armstrong was a solid fifth at Road America, giving him three consecutive top-10 finishes. The Meyer Shank Racing driver has five top 10s in the nine races this year. 7. Christian Lundgaard (LW: 5) Lundgaard, at one point, was the fastest car on his tire strategy. But his day went south with a spin while racing Herta at Road America. The Arrow McLaren driver had to settle for 24th. 6. Felix Rosenqvist (LW: NR) After finishes of 21st and 16th in the previous two races, Rosenqvist earned his fourth top five of the year with a second-place finish at Road America. The Meyer Shank driver hopes that he will get back some of the momentum he had earlier in the year. 5. Santino Ferrucci (LW: 7) Ferrucci earned his fourth consecutive top-five finish with a third at Road America, giving the A.J. Foyt Racing driver a second, a third and two fifths in his last four starts. 4. Pato O'Ward (LW: 3) A forgettable weekend pretty much for O'Ward, as he finished 17th at Road America. Expect the Arrow McLaren driver to be better at Mid-Ohio. He won there last year. 3. Scott Dixon (LW: 4) Dixon had speed but not the strategy, as he had to pit from the lead with a couple laps remaining to finish ninth. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver could use some luck. 2. Kyle Kirkwood (LW: 1) Kirkwood didn't have the speed to keep pace with the leaders but made the most of his strategy and finished fourth. The Andretti driver was coming off back-to-back wins and has five top fives this year. 1. Alex Palou (LW: 2) Palou was fast all weekend and ended up having the victorious strategy at Road America. With six wins this year, it makes you wonder if this is a battle for second. Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.