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It is interleague baseball as the St. Louis Cardinals face the Baltimore Orioles. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with a Cardinals-Orioles prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.
The Cardinals enter the game after taking two of three from the Reds over the weekend and have won six of their last ten games overall. It has been a solid last ten games at the plate for the Cardinals. They have scored 54 in the last ten games, including nine or more runs three times. Still, at 63-80 on the year, the Cardinals are nearing elimination from playoff contention.
Meanwhile, the Orioles had their seven-game winning streak snapped yesterday in a loss to the Red Sox. With the winning streak, the Orioles climbed to the 90-win mark on the season, and are 90-52 overall. That gives them a three-game lead over the Rays in the division. They are also nearing clinching a playoff spot. Their magic number to clinch the first spot in the American League sits are just five games.
Here are the Caridnals-Orioles MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Cardinals-Orioles Odds
St. Louis Cardinals: +1.5 (-142)
Baltimore Orioles: -1.5 (+118)
Over: 9 (-115)
Under: 9 (-105)
How To Watch Cardinals vs. Orioles
TV: BSMW/MASN
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 6:35 PM ET/ 3:35 PM PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Cardinals Could Cover The Spread
While the Cardinals have been hot on offense as of late, it is not something they have consistently seen. Overall, the Cardinals are tied for 16th in runs scored this year while sitting 13th in batting average, tenth in on-base percentage, and tenth in slugging. Willson Contreras has had a nice start to September with a great last week. In the last week, he is hitting .313 with a .389 on-base percentage. He has three home runs and that has helped him drive in nine runs in the last week. Contreras has also scored four times.
Meanwhile, Nolan Gorman is being highly productive. In the last week, he is hitting .350 with a .435 on-base percentage. He has hit a double and three home runs leading to six RBIs. Gorman has also stolen a base and scored seven times in the last week. Joining Gorman in coming into this game hot is Tyler O'Neill. He is hitting .375 in the last week with a .444 on-base percentage. He has a double and a home run leading to two RBIs while scoring three times.
Overall, the Cardinals have been great in the last week. They have hit .248 as a team with a .329 on-base percentage. The Cardinals have also hit ten home runs in the last six games, nearly two home runs per game. They have also outperformed their expected run total. The Cardinals have scored 40 times in the last week on an expected total of just 31.5 runs.
The Cardinals send Dakota Hudson to the mound today. He is 6-1 on the season with a 4.43 ERA. Last time out he gave up five runs in five innings of work to the Braves but came away with the win in the game. In the outing before that, he went seven innings and gave up just one run in a no-decision. Since fully moving to a starting role for the Cardinals, he has made seven starts, going 5-1 with the Cardinals going 5-2 in his starts.
Why The Orioles Could Cover The Spread
The Orioles offense continues to be hot. In the ten games, they have scored 70 runs. On the year, the Orioles are sixth in runs scored, while sitting seventh in batting average, 14th in on-base percentage, and ninth in slugging. Aaron Hick has been a huge part of that as of late. In the last week, he is hitting .476 with a .542 on-base percentage. He has a home run and a double while scoring four times. Hicks also has nine RBIs in the last week.
Meanwhile, Austin Hays and Gunnar Henderson have been providing a lot of run production. Henderson is hitting .267 in the last week. He has three doubles, a triple, and two home runs. That has led to seven RBIs in the last week for him. Hays is hitting .308 in the last week. He has three doubles and a home run leading to six RBIs. Hays has also scored nine times in the last week.
Overall, the Orioles are hitting .308 in the last week with a .379 on-base percentage. They have also hit ten home runs and scored 48 runs overall. This is great considering they have an expected run total in the last week of just 44.6 runs. Meanwhile, they are limiting their strikeouts as well. They have just 48 strikeouts in the last week, good for just seven a game.
The Orioles sent Dean Kremer to the mound today for the start. He is 12-5 on the season with a 4.07 ERA. He has been great since the start of August. Kremer has pitched 35 innings and given up just eight runs in those starts. That is good for a 1.80 ERA. Meanwhile, the Orioles have won five of those six starts. They have also won ten of the last 11 starts of Kremer.
Final Cardinals-Orioles Prediction & Pick
The Orioles are one of the best teams in baseball, and a big reason has been their work at the plate this year. While the Cardinals come in with hot bats at the plate, the Orioles have been even hotter. They have six guys who have hit over .333 in the last week, while they also have six guys who are over .425 in on-base percentage in the last week.
Further, the Orioles do have the edge in the pitching matchup today. While Dakota Hudson has been solid for the Cardinals, he is also getting the benefit of great run support. Kremer has been great for over a month now. Not only is he getting run support, but he is also averaging giving up less than two runs per outing. The Orioles' hot hitting will continue today, and Kremer is going to have another solid start. Take the Orioles in this one.
Final Cardinals-Orioles Prediction & Pick: Orioles -1.5 (+118)
