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The best team in the majors, the Atlanta Braves, host the St. Louis Cardinals. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with a Cardinals-Braves prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.
The Cardinals narrowly avoided a sweep over the weekend, losing two of three to the Pirates. They have now lost six of their last ten games, but there is still some positive. Rookie Jordan Walker hit two home runs in the series, while the Cardinals did put up some runs in the series. Still, the Cardinals are now 59-78 on the season. That places them 11.5 games out of a Wild Card spot, and with the second-worst record in the National League.
Meanwhile, the Braves took three of four from the Dodgers over the weekend. That gives them eight wins in the last ten games, and they are one of the hottest teams in baseball. Since breaking a three-game losing streak from August 5th to 7th, the Braves have won 18 of 23 games. At 90-46 on the year, the Braves have a 14.5-game lead in the NL East. Their magic to secure the playoffs is now sitting at just five games.
Here are the Cardinals-Braves MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Cardinals-Braves Odds
St. Louis Cardinals: +1.5 (-120)
Atlanta Braves: -1.5 (+100)
Over: 10.5 (-106)
Under: 10.5 (-114)
How To Watch Cardinals vs. Braves
TV: BSMW/BSSO
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 7:20 PM ET/ 4:20 PM PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Cardinals Could Cover The Spread
The Cardinals' offense has struggled for most of the season, but they scored 14 runs in the three-game series with the Pirates, yet still lost twice. On the year the Cardinals are 17th in the majors in runs scored, while sitting 12th in batting average, 10th in on-base percentage, and ninth in slugging. Jordan Walked has been the major catalyst for the offense as of late. In the last week, he is hitting .556 with three home runs and two doubles. That has led to seven RBIS and four runs scored in that time frame. Meanwhile, Wilson Contreras is also offering some power. In his last four games, he is hitting .333 with three home runs and a double. That has led to just four RBIs, but he has scored six times.
Tommy Edman is hitting great as of late for the Cardinals. In the last week, he is hitting .462 with a .611 on-base percentage. He has also been a menace on the basepath as he has gotten on. He has stolen five bases in the last week. Edman has hit a home run and driven in three runs as well while scoring four times. As a whole, the Cardinals are not hitting badly. They have a .241 batting average this past week with a .318 on-base percentage. They have hit nine home runs and six doubles in that time as well. The nine home runs related to a home run roughly every 19 at-bats, which means they should be good for one per game right now.
The Cardinals will send Miles Mikolas to the mound today. He is 6-10 with a 4.66 ERA. August was not his best month. In 37 innings of work, he gave up 24 runs with 23 being earned. That gabve him a 5.59 ERA. Mikolas gave up two or more runs in every start, and home runs in four of the six. He went 0-4 on the month, while the Cardinals did go 2-4 when he started games.
Why The Braves Could Cover The Spread
The Braves offense continues to thrive. They have scored 60 runs in the last ten games while winning eight of them. On the year, the Braves are first in the majors in runs scored, on-base percentage, slugging, and batting average. Ronald Acuna Jr. is continuing his great season. In the last week, he is hitting .333 with a .379 on-base percentage. Like he has done all year, it is a combination of power and speed. In the last week, he has stolen two bases while also hitting two home runs. Acuna has also hit a double, and driven in six runs while scoring four of his own.
Meanwhile, Marcell Ozuna is also adding some power. In the last week, he is hitting .381 with a .480 on-base percentage. He has two doubles and three home runs leading to five RBIs. Ozuna has also scored five times in the last week. Ozzie Albies is also hitting well. He comes into the game hitting .409 in the last week with a .435 on-base percentage. Still, he does not have an RBI in the last week, and while getting on base a lot, he has scored just one run. Finally, Michael Harris is hitting well. He is hitting .275 in the last week, with a home run and two doubles. He has three RBIs, but the only run he has scored is Harris driving in himself.
In the last week, the Braves have been hitting well. They have hit .279 in the last week with a .326 on-base percentage. they continue to hit a lot of home runs as well. They have 13 home runs in the last week, one every 16.5 at-bats. The major issue has been guys getting stranded on base. The Braves have driven in 28 runs in the last week, but there is room for improvement. They have an expected run total of 32.4.
The Braves will send Michael Soroka to the mound today. He is 2-1 on the year with a 5.52 ERA. Soroka has not made a start for the Braves since July 21st. In that game, he went six innings and gave up four runs. Before that, things were trending upward. In the previous two starts, he had given up just two runs in 7.2 innings of work.
Final Cardinals-Braves Prediction & Pick
While the Cardinals have Miles Milkolas going today, he may give the Cardinals a slight pitching advantage. He is a known commodity and the Cardinals will know what to expect. This is the first start for Soroka in a month and a half. He was not great when he was making starts earlier this year, so it will be interesting to see if he rebounds. Meanwhile, the major difference in this game is the bats. The Braves have the best offense in the majors, and it shows no signs of slowing down. Expect them to score plenty tonight in a victory.
Final Cardinals-Braves Prediction & Pick: Braves -1.5 (+100)
