The St. Louis Cardinals will play the San Diego Padres at PETCO Park. The opening pitch is scheduled for 8:40 p.m. ET and Fox Sports San Diego will televise this NL matchup.
St. Louis Cardinals at San Diego Padres Odds
San Diego (+110) is coming into this one as the underdog to St. Louis (-120) and Vegas has set the Over/Under for this afternoon’s game at 7.5 runs (-120 for the over and +100 for the under). Runline odds sit at +125 for taking the Cardinals -1.5 runs and -145 for the Padres +1.5 runs.
The Padres are just 14-26 SU and 17-22 ATS. The team has lost 6.2 units for moneyline bettors and 11.1 units against the spread (ATS). San Diego has covered the spread four times in its last seven games and the under has hit in five of those seven. The Cardinals are 22-14 SU and have gone 17-18 ATS. In total, the team’s gained 3.0 units for moneyline bettors in the season’s early going, but have lost 1.9 units ATS. St. Louis is 3-4 ATS over its last seven games and the under has cashed in five of those seven.
Padres games have a 17-20-2 over/under record so far in 2018. The Cardinals have an over/under record of 14-18-3.
Michael Wacha will get the nod for the visiting Cardinals. The right-handed Wacha is 4-1 with a 3.35 ERA and 31 strikeouts. He has yet to face the Padres this year and only made one start against them in 2017 (1-0, 4.50 ERA and six strikeouts over six innings).
The Padres are turning to righty Tyson Ross (2-3, 3.67 ERA), who has 46 strikeouts and 16 walks as well as a WHIP of 1.20. Ross did not record a start against the Cardinals in 2017.
San Diego’s pitchers have allowed 5.0 runs per game overall this year as a unit. The club’s starters have a 5.26 ERA, 1.61 WHIP and 8.6 strikeouts per nine innings. The bullpen has a 3.28 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 9.7 K/9.
The San Diego hitters have put up 3.7 runs per contest, including 3.0 per game over its last 10 games and 2.6 per game over their last five. The team has hit .222/.289/.335 over its last five matchups and is 1-4 SU during that stretch.
The Padres’ offense has been led by first baseman Eric Hosmer and third baseman Christian Villanueva. Hosmer is hitting .265/.367/.471 with five home runs, 12 RBIs and 18 runs scored, while Villanueva’s line is .232/.317/.518 with nine homers, 20 RBIs and 17 runs scored.
Hosmer seemed to enjoy hitting righty pitching at home in 2017, slashing .354/.439/.615 over 221 such plate appearances (compared to his total season line of .318/.385/.498).
For the visitors, St. Louis’ pitchers have allowed 3.8 runs per game and its starters own a 3.15 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 7.75 K/9. The bullpen has an ERA of 3.71, along with a WHIP of 1.24 and a K/9 of 8.11.
The Cardinals offense has slashed .232/.321/.393 on its way to 4.4 runs scored per game in 2018, including 3.3 runs per game over the team’s last 10 games and 3.2 per game over the team’s last five contests (3-2 SU).
St. Louis’ hitters have been powered by Tommy Pham and Jedd Gyorko. Pham is slashing .343/.450/.593 with seven home runs, 17 RBIs, 27 runs and seven stolen bases, while Gyorko (.366/.481/.707) has produced four homers, seven RBIs and 10 runs scored.
Putting up a slash line of .352/.438/.633 across 226 such plate appearances, Pham performed well against righty pitching on the road in 2017 (compared to his total season slash line of .306/.411/.520).
The Cardinals have lost 0.6 units and are 10-15 ATS when facing a righty starter this season. The over has hit in 10 of those games, compared to 12 that’ve gone under in such games. On the other hand, the Padres have lost 7.0 units and are 11-14 ATS when facing a right-handed starting pitcher. The over’s hit in 10 of those games, as opposed to 13 which went under the total.
St. Louis Cardinals vs. San Diego Padres MLB Pick
Predictions: SU Winner – Padres, ATS Winner – Padres, O/U – OVER
Click Here to Start Betting Today!
Notes
Betting Trends
The Padres have lost four of their last five games SU.
San Diego has recorded 16.6 Runs + Hits + Errors per game over its last 10 outings and 16.6 over its last five.
The Cardinals have hit 15 home runs in their last 10 games, including nine over their last five.
+++++
