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The Miami Marlins go for the series sweep over the St. Louis Cardinals. It is now time to continue our MLB odds series with a Cardinals-Marlins prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.
Coming off being swept by the Braves, the Marlins have now won three straight and the offense has been solid. They have scored 25 runs so far in the series. Yesterday started well for the Marlins. Luis Arraez and Jorge Soler got on base and then Bryan De La Cruz drove Arraez home. Garrett Cooper drove home Soler and De La Cruz followed by Dane Myers driving him home to open up a 4-0 lead. It would be five to nothing going into third, and the Cardinal struck back, capped off by a Nolan Gorman home run to tie the game. The teams traded runs until the ninth when Jordan Walker gave the Cardinals the lead. It would be a sad collapse for the Cardinals though, and the Marlins scored two runs with the help of an error to walk it off in the ninth.
The Marlins are now 51-37 on the season, but still eight games back for the Braves for the lead in the NL East. Still, they have a nice lead in the wild card race, holding the top spot as of now. Meanwhile, the Cardinals drop to 35-51, placing them 11.5 games out of the wild-card chase.
Here are the Cardinals-Marlins MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Cardinals-Marlins Odds
St. Louis Cardinals:+1.5 (-196)
Miami Marlins: -1.5 (+162)
Over: 8 (-110)
Under: 8 (-110)
How To Watch Cardinals vs. Marlins
TV: BSMW/BSFL/FS1
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 6:40 PM ET/ 3:40 PM PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Cardinals Could Cover The Spread
After scoring six runs in the first two games of the series, the offense went for nine last night, but it was not enough. The Cardinal's offense has been slightly above average all year. They are 12th in runs scored, 13th in batting average, eighth in on-base percentage, and seventh in slugging this year. Nolan Arenado drove in two more runs last night and has started July hot. He is hitting .368 this month with three RBIs and a walk. More impressively, he has six doubles already this month and has scored four times, including twice yesterday.
Brendan Donovan has been hot when he is getting chances as well. In the last week, he is hitting .571 with a home run and two RBIs. He has also scored a run in that time, and has an OBP of .600. Wilson Contreras is in a similar position. He is hitting .529 in the last week, with a .619 on-base percentage. He also has a home run and three RBIs to go with his four runs scored.
When Contreras is not behind the plate, it is Andrew Knizner. He has done a solid job keeping up the production as well. Knizner is hitting .400 in the last week with three RBIS as well. There has not been a lot of power in the offense in the last week though. Paul Gold Schmidt does have a home run but is hitting just .231. Nolan Gorman is the only player with multiple home runs. He has two, but with just three hits in his last 19 at-bats, it has been all or nothing for him. Gorman has struck out seven times as well in those at-bats.
On the hill, today for the Cardinals will be Jack Flaherty. He comes into the game with a 5-5 record and a 4.60 ERA. After two terrible starts, where he went just a combined 10.2 innings and have up 12 runs, Flaherty bounced back in his last start. He went six innings giving up four hits and two walks. He did not allow a run to score as he got his fifth win of the year.
Why The Marlins Could Cover The Spread
The Marlins offense was shut down by the Braves last weekend. They managed to score just seven runs in three games. They have scored more than that in each of their last two. With 25 runs in the series, the offense is humming again, and they are doing it without Jazz Chisholm, as he is back on the IL with an oblique injury. He had been hitting well. In his six games after coming back from his last trip to the IL, Chisholm was hitting .348. He also had driven in five RBIs and hit two home runs.
It has been Jesus Sanchez as of late driving in a lot of runs. He has been hitting .389 over the last week with two home runs and a double. He has also driven in eight runs in the last week. Joining him in driving in runs is Garrett Cooper. Cooper has six RBIs in the last week while hitting .318. He also has a home run and a double, scoring three times as well.
Jorge Soler is also picking up a little. He is hitting .296 in the last week with a home run and three RBIs. Soler is tied for sixth in the majors with 22 home runs on the season. He was fairly solid throughout June as well. He hit .238 on the month while driving in 12 and hitting five home runs. Bryan De La Crus needs to get back to where he was in June. De La Cruz drove in 20 runs with the help of two home runs and seven doubles in June. He also hit .255 for the month. So far this month, it is just a .211 batting average with a double and four RBIs. All four have come in this series, with RBIs in each game.
The Marlins send Eury Perez to the mound today with his 5-2 record and 2.47 ERA. He has been amazing at home this year. So far this year at home he is 3-0 with a 1.01 ERA. His last start was bad, giving up six runs and seven hits while recording just one out. Still, he did not allow a run in his previous three starts.
Final Cardinals-Marlins Prediction & Pick
While Perez was dreadful last time out, he will rebound this time. First, he is much better at home. Second, that was against the Braves. The Cardinals' offense is just not near the level the Braves are. Perez has not given up a run at home since May 18th against the Nationals. He may not again today. The Marlins win this one with ease.
Final Cardinals-Marlins Prediction & Pick: Marlins -1.5 (+162)
