Attention baseball fanatics and bettors! The NL Central is up for grabs on Saturday as the Milwaukee Brewers will seek to avenge their loss from yesterday as they meet up with the St. Louis Cardinals on the diamond for the second straight night. With that being said, it is time to take a look at our MLB odds series, where our Brewers-Cardinals prediction and pick will be made for all to see.
After coming out on the wrong side of things in a low-scoring 3-1 defeat versus St. Louis, the Brewers now trail the Red Birds by 1.5 games for first place in the division. Trailing the season series 6-7 up to this point, Milwaukee still has to face off with the Cardinals six more times including tonight’s highly anticipated matchup at Busch Stadium. Getting the nod on the mound in this one will be the electric right-hander Corbin Burnes, who has posted an 8-5 record and a dazzling 2.45 ERA in his 22 games started on the year.
Looking to carry the momentum from yesterday will be none other than the ageless winder himself in RHP Adam Wainwright. At age 40, Wainwright pitched to an 8-8 record with an impressive 3.42 ERA in his 17th season in the bigs.
Here are the Brewers-Cardinals MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Brewers-Cardinals Odds
Milwaukee Brewers: -1.5 (+118)
St. Louis Cardinals: +1.5 (-142)
Over: 7 (-124)
Under: 7 (+102)
Why The Brewers Could Cover The Spread
After leaving Busch Stadium with a bad taste in their mouths on Saturday, the Brewers’ upcoming scheduled weekend battle with the ‘Cards may be one of the biggest games that they have played throughout the 2022 season. Obviously, a hard-fought win later this evening could be the difference between trailing St. Louis by a half-game or 2.5 games with a loss.
In the 3-1 loss yesterday, the Brew Crew fell behind early and just couldn’t find a rhythm at the plate. When it was all but said, Milwaukee had stranded eight men on base after mustering up a total of eight hits on the night. Alarmingly, the Brewers enter Saturday losers in seven of their previous ten contests, which varies from a St. Louis team that has found their spark in coming out victorious in 11 of their last 14. Without a doubt, this one means a little more for both sides.
As a whole, the Brewers have been an effective bunch at the dish with the seventh-best on-base percentage (.321) and the 13th-most runs scored in the league with 513 total. Pair these statistics with OF Christian Yelich leading the club in average at .256 and the hefty but powerful slugging Rowdy Tellez paving the way with 23 home runs and 71 RBIs, and Milwaukee has quite the offensive arsenal at their disposal.
Fortunately, the Brewers will have the right guy on the bump in Corbin Burnes, as covering the spread may come down to whether or not he can log another fabulous outing to his season resume. The reigning NL Cy Young award winner is 4-2 with a 2.01 ERA in ten road starts this season.
Why The Cardinals Could Cover The Spread
One of the hottest teams in all of the sport since the All-Star Break, it’s safe to say that the Cardinals have found their groove with the most important games in the regular season coming up. No question, St. Louis has gone streaking with their dynamic MVP-caliber duo of Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado leading the charge at the plate and when in the field. To open up the month of August, the Cardinals’ lethal sluggers have made life a living hell for opposing pitchers, as they both recorded home runs on Friday as St. Louis recorded its ninth straight win at Busch Stadium.
The Cards lineup has numerous names that can leave their mark on a game, not many teams throughout the league possess a greater one-two punch than Goldschmidt and Arenado. While Goldschmidt leads the club with a stellar .331 average and 28 long balls, it’s been the Red Birds’ third-baseman that has wreaked havoc on other teams. In fact, Arenado has homered in three straight games and has hit six homers in his last ten games played.
An intriguing thing to keep your eye on will be how Wainwright fares against a not-too-shabby Brewers offense. Not only is the longtime big league pitcher holding his own for someone who is turning 41 later this month, but he is also fresh off a 111-pitch performance against the Yankees last Sunday. Remarkably, the old man has still got it. Wainwright has been quite familiar with the Brewers over the years, as he has posted a 20-14 record in 45 starts with a flashy 2.81 ERA to boot.
Final Brewers-Cardinals Prediction & Pick
It may be a surprise that the Cardinals enter this one as +1.t run underdogs, as many bettors most likely expected them to be favored in game two of this series. With that being said, the value is certainly there to put your money on St. Louis to cover in back-to-back games against the Brewers. With the veteran expertise of Wainwright, the Cardinals will prevail in a nail-biter.
Final Brewers-Cardinals Prediction & Pick: Cardinals +1.5 (-142)
