Cardinals vs Cubs odds: 2023 MLB London Series betting sites and odds

THE MLB London Series is due for a hotly anticipated return on 24th and 25th June 2023.

The Chicago Cubs and the St Louis Cardinals will slug it out in the two-day series in an international extension of one of MLB’s most bitter rivalries. 

MLB World Series odds

If you’re a fan of baseball and the MLB, you may also enjoy betting on matches. The MLB London Series teams are both historically successful teams, so there are plenty of opportunities to place interesting bets. 

The two teams slugged it out just a few weeks ago in a 3-day series. 

Going into the game, betting sites couldn’t separate the two teams, giving them a moneyline of 110 each. Such odds were offered across the board by the likes of William Hill and BetUK. 

Despite a poor start to the season, the Cardinals went on to win that 3-day series 2-1, though the Cubs secured their win by the biggest margin. 

At present, bet365 are currently offering odds of the Cardinals qualifying for the playoffs at 11/2 with the Cubs 39/10, which suggests the Cubs could edge this series. 

However, another betting site, William Hill, is offering odds on the St Louis Cardinals of winning the World Series at 80/1—despite their poor league performance. The odds of the Cubs winning the title are 90/1. UniBet offers the odds for the Cubs winning the title at 100/1, but the Cardinals sit at 50/1, which suggests the bookmakers prefer the Cardinals over the Cubs overall. 

When is the MLB London Series?

The MLB London Series is taking place on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th June 2023. 

On Saturday the match begins at around 6pm (BST) and on Sunday it begins at 3pm (BST).

Where is the MLB London Series held?

In 2023, the MLB London Series will be held at the London Stadium at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London. It is the former Olympic Stadium, used in the 2012 Olympics. It has since been converted into a football stadium and is home to Premier League team, West Ham United. 

Finding a suitable stadium for baseball in the UK proved tricky at first. The MLB managed to develop a strategy to convert the stadium’s pitch into an MLB ballpark. Larger MLB-style clubhouses were also built within the stadium to give it a more genuine feel. 

The only other MLB London Series game took place in 2019 at the London Stadium too. 2023’s series will be the first since then, with other events cancelled due to the global pandemic.

St. Louis Cardinals – team history and current form

The St. Louis Cardinals has a rich history in the world of baseball. They’ve won the World Series an impressive eleven times, with the most recent coming in 2011. Their most dominant period came between 1926 and 1946 when they won six championships. A couple of titles in the 1960s added to the record, but the Cardinals suffered a long dry spell between 1982 and 2006. 

With twelve years passing by since their last World Series title, the Cardinals will be looking to end the drought as soon as possible.

However, this season may not be the year that happens. It’s been a forgettable year for St. Louis. At the time of writing, their record is the third-worst record in the entire National League. 

The year has been marred with prolonged losing streaks, with the most recent six-game losing run only coming to an end against the New York Mets in a close 5-3 victory.

The Cardinals will be hoping to turn around their fortunes over the next few weeks, with the MLB London Series potentially providing an opportunity to wipe the slate clean. St Louis will be hoping Veteran pitcher Adam Wainwright can stay fit and in the same form he displayed against the Mets where he gave up three runs and struck out three. 

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Chicago Cubs – team history and current form

The Chicago Cubs are one of the most iconic teams in Major League Baseball, but despite that they’ve only ever won three World Series titles. The first two came back in 1907 and 1908. It was then over a century later in 2016 when the Cubs won their third. They’ve gotten to the final more often than they’ve won (17 times in all), so it’s unsurprising then that one of their team nicknames is The Loveable Losers.

It doesn’t look likely that they’ll add to their list of titles this season. Despite having a better record than the Cardinals, they sit mid-table in the National League Central Division, just above the Pirates. 

If the last few games are anything to go by, however, the Cubs could turn their fortunes around. They’ve won eight of the last ten games played, claiming some significant victories in that time and by big margins too. 

It looks like some of their players are at last coming good. The Cubs invested heavily in pitcher Jameson Taillon (signing him on a four-year, $68 million contract), but so far he’s been disappointing. He’s allowed for an average of at least four runs in most of his starts and is yet to finish more than five innings in an outing. 

But it takes time for players to settle into a new team, especially when expectations are so high. It can be enough to derail some players, but hope is still high among the Cubs that players like Taillon can turn it around. The MLB London Series may prove the perfect opportunity to show the world what he’s truly capable of. 

MLB World Series 2023 betting tips

There are lots of bets you can make on the World Series – but there’s one that even beginners can understand, and which is by far the most popular option – outright winner.

As discussed earlier, the Cardinals seem to be the bookies favourites with 80/1 and 50/1 at William Hill and Unibet, respectively. The Cubs sit at 90/1 and 100/1 from those same bookies. If choosing between these two sides, the Cardinals definitely seem the better bet.

This is despite a recent run of poor form from the Cardinals and great form from the Cubs – the bookies seem to believe those performances at this point in the season can’t be relied on too heavily. There’s plenty of time between now and October, after all.

More generally, the Atlanta Braves are the current leader for World Series winners, with odds from William Hill at 7/2, and a slightly more generous 15/4 at Unibet.

Who are the favourites for the MLB London Series?

Given their most recent series victory over the Cubs, the Cardinals could fancy themselves as the favourites going into the tie. The Cardinals are experiencing a pretty shocking season compared to what they’re used to. Last season they won the National League Central Division, where as the Cubs finished third. However, they were beaten in the Wild Card Series against the Phillies.

The Cubs will also be confident after their big win over the Cardinals in their most recent game, but given the history between the two, they could succumb to the occasion. The Cardinals could therefore edge it overall, though a draw wouldn’t be out of the question, with each team taking a game each.

Who has won the MLB London Series on the most occasions?

The first ever London MLB Series took place in 2019. It has also been the only one ever held. The global pandemic saw the 2020 event cancelled and lockdown restrictions prevented other events being arranged. As a result, 2023’s series will be the first since 2019.

That first series featured the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. They played a two-game series. The Yankees took the first game in a high-scoring affair, finishing 17-13. They also won the second game 12-8, making them the team that’s won the MLB London Series the most. 

Who has won more World Series, Cardinals or Cubs?

The St Louis Cardinals has won more World Series titles than the Chicago Cubs by some margin. The Cardinals have won eleven titles, whereas the Cubs have won just three. 

However, the most recent winners of the title were the Cubs, with their victory coming in 2016. The last time St Louis won was over a decade ago in 2011. 

Only the New York Yankees have won more World Series titles than the Cardinals with 27. The Boston Red Sox and Oakland Athletics are tied in third place with 9 titles each. The San Francisco Giants (with 8) and the LA Dodgers (with 7) make up the top 6. Another popular team, the Atlanta Braves, have won it 4 times.

Who are the most important players in the MLB London Series?

There are a few standout names in the rosters of both the Cubs and Cardinals and fans will be excited to see them perform. For the Cubs, hopes will be high for repeat performances by Patrick Wisdom and Yan Gomes, who both nailed home runs in their last game with St Louis. 

The Cubs will also hope Justin Steele can keep up his impressive pitching. The last time the two teams met he struck out three and walked three more in six innings. Before this game he had made fourteen consecutive starts without giving up more than two earned runs. 

As for the Cardinals, they’ll be hoping their trusted pitcher Adam Wainwright, as well as their other two iconic players, Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols, all bring their A-game. All three are retiring at the end of the season so they’ll be keen to make a good impression.

How long have the Cubs and Cardinals been rivals?

The rivalry between the Cubs and the Cardinals goes back some time and is regarded as one of the bitterest in baseball. Both teams play in the same league—the National League Central for one, which means they face off against each other several times per year. 

Each side is also located close to the other, with both home cities accessible via the US’s iconic Route 66. Because of this, matches are often attended by away fans, which can be a rare sight in US sports due to the size of the country.

Interestingly, in the nearly 2,500 games that they’ve played against each other, the two teams have only faced off just once in the playoffs. That came in 2015 and saw the Cubs win 3-1. 

How did the last match between the Cubs and Cardinals go?

The Cubs and the Cardinals played each other just a few weeks ago on 11th May. It took place at the Wrigley Field in Chicago and saw the Cubs cruise to a comfortable 10-4 victory. 

Coming into the game, St Louis had won three in a row to help break their bad form. But things unravelled spectacularly as Patrick Wisdom and Yan Gomes scored impressive home runs.

Jordan Montgomery, pitching for the Cardinals, had a poor game, giving up six runs in five innings. It means he’s lost five times in six starts.

However, the Cardinals won the first two games of the series between the two, which will leave them feeling satisfied given the poor season they’ve had so far. It’ll also give them a bit of confidence going into the MLB London Series, though that big loss to the Cubs may put a few dents in it. 

Where to watch Cardinals vs Cubs MLB London Series?

Let’s take a look at where you can watch the Cardinals vs Cubs MLB London Series games. 

• Location: London Stadium, Olympic Park, London
• Date and time: Saturday 24th June (6pm BST) and Sunday 25th June (3pm BST) 
• Where to watch: BT Sport

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