The St. Louis Cardinals take on the San Diego Padres. Our MLB odds series has our Cardinals Padres prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Cardinals Padres.

The St. Louis Cardinals lived through a nightmare in the 2023 Major League Baseball season. They finished 20 games under .500 at 71-91, sinking to the bottom of the National League Central, below the Pittsburgh Pirates, who were 76-86. It was one of the most miserable seasons in recent memory for a franchise which has become synonymous with sustained, consistent success and regular postseason appearances. The main reason for the team's collapse was its lack of quality pitching in both the starting rotation and especially the bullpen. There was no depth to speak of at any point in the season. with three weeks left in the season. The bullpen gave up leads on a regular basis. One of the deeper, underlying reasons why the pitching fell apart is that future Hall of Fame catcher Yadier Molina retired after 2022. His handling of pitchers was a key reason the Cardinals remained so good for so long. Without him mentoring pitchers and calling games so expertly, the pitching fell off a cliff.

Entering 2024, the Cardinals hoped to establish a new and improved identity, but on Sunday Night Baseball against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the old 2023 demons quickly resurfaced. The Cardinals blew a 4-0 sixth-inning lead, with their bullpen allowing multiple eighth-inning homers to the Los Angeles lineup in a 5-4 loss. It is only the first day of April, but the Cardinals — at 1-3 — really need to bounce back this week and make sure that after their first 15 games, they aren't 5-10 with a big deficit to make up in the division standings. This team needs to stabilize quickly. If it can't, the season could begin to slip away in much the same way it did a year ago. No one in St. Louis wants that.

Here are the Cardinals-Padres MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

MLB Odds: Cardinals-Padres Odds

St. Louis Cardinals: -1.5 (+146)

San Diego Padres: +1.5 (-176)

Over: 8 (-112)

Under: 8 (-108)

How To Watch Cardinals vs. Padres

TV: Bally Sports Midwest (Cardinals) / MLB (Padres) / MLB Extra Innings

Stream: MLB.TV

Time: 9:40 p.m. ET/6:40 p.m. PT

*Watch Cardinals-Padres LIVE on fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why The Cardinals Could Cover The Spread

The Cardinals showed over the past two days against the Dodgers what kind of team they can be. Starting pitching was solid. The team got a lot of timely hits and some big situational outs. St. Louis beat the Dodgers in 10 innings on Saturday and then led 4-0 on Sunday before the bullpen's late implosion. The team split those two games instead of going 2-0, but we saw a lot better competitive quality than for long stretches of the 2023 season. This team still has some elite players, Paul Goldschmidt being the foremost star in the batting order. There is too much talent here for St. Louis to once again be a bad team.

Also include in your betting calculus the fact that the Padres are going to the back end of their rotation here. Matt Waldron is not the best of the Padres' starters. Kyle Gibson is pitching for the Cardinals and is a clearly better starter. That might be the difference in this game.

Why The Padres Could Cover The Spread

The Padres had a perplexingly difficult time scoring in Petco Park last season. Their offense was one of the most underperforming groups in baseball in 2023. Sunday against the San Francisco Giants, the Padres looked like the elite offensive team they are capable of being. They scored five in the first, four in the second, and three in the third in a 13-4 win. That's what this offense can look like. The Padres look refreshed and ready to score in bunches this season. If they can get this game into the bullpens, the Cardinal pen is once again looking like a leaky faucet. San Diego would fancy its chances.

Final Cardinals-Padres Prediction & Pick

The starting pitching matchup of Gibson versus Waldron is hard to ignore here. Take the Cardinals.

Final Cardinals-Padres Prediction & Pick: Cardinals -1.5