Some fierce interleave play will shortly be underway when the St. Louis Cardinals take on the Oakland Athletics. It is about that time to take a look at our MLB odds series where our Cardinals-Athletics prediction and pick will be revealed.
Fresh off a 3-1 victory over the A's in game one, St. Louis put forth a masterful pitching performance as they surrendered a measly five hits that led to nothing serious on the base paths. On paper, these are the types of wins that St. Louis cannot afford to not win as they entered the series dead-last in the NL Central. As it stands, St Louis is 8-9 overall and are three games behind the Milwaukee Brewers and Pittsburgh Pirates for the top spot on the throne. In line for the pitching start for this one will be veteran Lance Lynn who is 0-0 with a rock-solid 2.63 ERA.
Expectations are quite low for the Athletics this season, but crazier things have happened! So far, Oakland possesses a 7-10 record and does happen to have a better record than the Houston Astros who are bafflingly sitting at the bottom of the AL West. After winning five of their last six games, the A's have dropped two in their last three tries as of late. In order to stop the losing from eliminating all of the positive momentum from that victorious stretch, Oakland will call upon JP Sears who has amassed a 1-1 record and a 5.17 ERA in three starts. Last time out, Sears dialed up 6 1/3 innings of shutout baseball on the road against the Texas Rangers.
Here are the MLB Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Cardinals-Athletics Odds
St. Louis Cardinals: -1.5 (+108)
Moneyline: -154
Oakland Athletics: +1.5 (-130)
Moneyline: +130
Over: 8 (-110)
Under: 8 (-110)
How to Watch Cardinals vs. Athletics
Time: 9:40 ET/6:40 PT
TV: MLB.TV
Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)
Why The Cardinals Will Cover The Spread/Win
It hasn't necessarily been the dream start that the Cardinals were hoping for, but with plenty of action remaining in the regular season, St. Louis has plenty of time to right their ship.
Without a doubt, this has been a roster that hasn't any issues in regard to a talent disparity. Still, St. Louis is still waiting on some names to break out of their collective slumps at the plate. More specifically, first-baseman Paul Goldschmidt is scuffling with the bat as he is hitting only .183 on the young season. A year ago, Goldschmidt happened to slash .268 and is a career .292 hitter. At some point, one would think that it is only a matter of time before the 36-year-old gets going again. As a whole, the Red Birds rank 21st in the league in runs scored and often struggle to make noise on the base paths with an on-base percentage of .299.
Luckily, the pitching staff has been up to snuff with a fairly solid 3.74 ERA collectively as a team. With the hopes that veteran pitcher Lance Lynn can follow suit, St. Louis has already accounted for an impressive 11-6 mark against the spread as they continue to prove that they are reliable for plenty of bettors.
Why The Athletics Will Cover The Spread/Win
Eyeing their fourth series win in a row on Tuesday, Oakland is fresh on the heels of defeating the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, and Washington Nationals. By defeating those three clubs consecutively, Oakland has managed to win three series in a row for the first time since 2021. Despite coming up short versus St. Louis a day ago, many believe that the Athletics have what it takes to bounce back in a big way in this evening's inter-league showdown.
First things first, there is no doubt that the A's will need to heat up the bats. Similarly to St. Louis, Oakland has not been known for their bats leading up to this point of the regular season. With a couple of weeks remaining in the month of April, the A's actually have scored the second-fewest runs in Major League Baseball and are seeking a standout performance from one of their names in the lineup.
All in all, one hitter who has been hit or miss this season and will be counted on to flex his muscles at the plate will be catcher Shea Langelier. Indeed, he's only hitting .188 on the season, but he does happen to already be tied for 13th in the majors with four round-trippers under his belt. Ultimately, Oakland's offense went 0-4 with RISP and stranded three baserunners on Monday evening, and they will need to greatly improve these metrics if they want a chance to cover.
The most encouraging factor that falls in the A's favor heading into this matchup happens to be in the form of J.P. Sears. In dominating fashion, Sears could not be touched against the Rangers, and he will have the chance to make a thunderous statement with a second-straight flashy start.
Final Cardinals-Athletics Prediction & Pick
Don't be sleeping on the A's! Factually speaking, the Cardinals have won back-to-back games just twice this season and have proven that they are an inconsistent bunch thus far. Although Oakland's home-field advantage is limited, don't be overly shocked if they tie this series up with a solid outing.
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Final Cardinals-Athletics Prediction & Pick: Athletics +1.5 (-130)
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