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It has been a rainy weekend in St. Louis as the New York Yankees finish up a three game set with the St. Louis Cardinals. This game will continue our MLB odds series with a Yankees-Cardinals prediction and pick. We will also let you know how to watch the game.
After being rained out on Friday, the Yankees and Cardinals played a rain delayed doubled header on Saturday. The two teams split the two games, but the Yankees did outhit the Cardinals on the day. For New York, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Anthony Volpe had four hits each in the two games. Volpe added a triple and scored three runs. Jake Bauers had just one hit, but that hit was a home run. As a team, the Yankees had 20 hits, but just three were for extra bases. However, that does give them a .299 batting average for the series. On the mound, New York has allowed 19 hits and walked 11 batters in 17 innings pitched. On the day, the Yankees used nine relief pitchers.
St. Louis had an offensive outburst in the first game, but was held quiet in game two. Tommy Edman, Lars Nootbar and Paul Goldschmidt had three hits each in the two games. As a team, the Cardinals hit .279 on the day. Nootbar, Goldschmidt and Nolan Gorman all homered on Saturday. Eight of the 19 hits for St. Louis went for extra bases. On the mound, St. Louis got a quality start from Jack Flaherty in their win and they only used five relief pitchers in the two games played. The Cardinals only struck out nine batters in 18 innings pitched and walked 10.
Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery will be the starting pitchers for Sunday's rubber match.
Here are the Yankees-Cardinals MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Yankees-Cardinals Odds
New York Yankees: -1.5 (+146)
St. Louis Cardinals: +1.5 (-178)
Over: 8 (-110)
Under: 8 (-110)
How To Watch Yankees vs. Cardinals
TV: YES Network, Bally Sports Midwest
Stream: MLB TV Subscription
Time: 2:15 PM ET/11:15 AM PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Yankees Could Cover The Spread
New York will start their ace on Sunday, and they really need him to go deep into this game. The Yankees used pretty much every arm in their bullpen during the double header, so nobody is going to be fully rested except for their starting pitcher. Yes, relief pitchers pitch back-to-back days often, but the second day is always tougher than the first. Luckily, Cole is one of the best pitchers in baseball. He has gone at least six innings in 12 of his 17 starts this season and four of his last five. If he can give six or seven innings in this one, the Yankees will be in good shape.
Cole had a great June. He threw 30 innings, walked just five batters, allowed 28 hits and struck out 34. He looks to be pitching as his old self after a tough May. Cole really needs to pickup his team in this game, and he can easily do that. On the season, Cole has an ERA below 2.80, a 1.13 WHIP and 113 strikeouts in 103 2/3 innings pitched. He will definitely be in consideration for American League Cy Young, and with him on the mound, the Yankees are always a threat to cover the spread.
Why The Cardinals Could Cover The Spread
St. Louis actually has their best pitcher on the mound according to the stats. Montogomery leads the pitching staff in wins, ERA, strikeouts and he has the lowest WHIP of the starting pitchers in St. Louis. Those stats are because of his incredible June. Montgomery had a 1.71 ERA in June in 31 2/3 innings pitched. He allowed just 24 hits, walked only six and struck out 30 in those innings. He has gone six or more innings in all of his last four starts. If he can build off his month of June, the Cardinals will be in good shape in this one.
As we know, the Yankees do not have Aaron Judge in the lineup for the time being. Without Judge in the lineup, the Yankees bat just .221. New York also scored just 3.74 runs per game without him, compared to the 4.98 they score with him. It is no secret that the Yankees are much worse without Judge, but the numbers really put it into perspective. Montgomery should be able to build off his June and help the Cardinals in this game.
Final Yankees-Cardinals Prediction & Pick
This pitching matchup is sneaky exciting. Montgomery is arguably the NL pitcher of the month in June while Cole is just one of the best pitchers in general. The Yankees failure to produce runs puts doubt into my head that they can cover the spread. If the Yankees do end up winning this game, I expect it to be a one run game.
Final Yankees-Cardinals Prediction & Pick: Cardinals +1.5 (-178), Under 8 (-110)
