Who's ready for some Saturday afternoon baseball? Buckle up ladies and gentlemen, as the St. Louis Cardinals take on the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Join us for our MLB odds series where our Cardinals-Phillies prediction and pick will be revealed.

It has been well discussed how disheartening the 2023 season has been for the Cardinals, and things aren't getting any better with a 7-2 series-opening loss to the Phillies on Friday. All together, St. Louis is dead-last in the NL Central with a 56-73 record. Nevertheless, the ‘Cards will call upon Dakota Hudson who is a flawless 5-0 to go along with a 3.95 ERA.

On the other side of things, the defending NL champs from a year ago are officially on a roll with four wins in their last six games overall. On paper, Philly does happen to be a whopping 13.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves for the NL East lead, but they are firmly in the NL Wild Card race and are in a good position to make some noise come October. Alas, the savvy veteran right-hander in Zach Wheeler will be in store for the start with his 9-6 record and 3.70 ERA in 25 starts on the year.

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

MLB Odds: Cardinals-Phillies Odds

St. Louis Cardinals: +1.5 (-115)

Philadelphia Phillies: -1.5 (-104)

Over: 8.5 (-118)

Under: 8.5 (-104)

How To Watch Cardinals vs. Phillies

TV: Fox

Stream: Fox Sports App

Time: 7:15 ET/4:15 PT

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Why The Cardinals Could Cover The Spread

In one of the more porous seasons in recent memory, it is safe to say that the Red Birds are not used to losing. Believe it or not, St. Louis has not endured a last-place finish since all the way back in 1990 when manager Whitey Herzog left the team after only 80 games played. Barring a miracle, the Cardinals are well on their way to irrelevance in the year of 2023.

However, there is still pride to be played for as the Cardinals won't be expected to lay down with a little over a month remaining in the 2023 regular season. The main thing that the ‘Cards have going for themselves is the fact that they are a surprisingly top-ten-hitting offense in all of baseball. While their overall record is sloppy, the sticks haven't been to blame with the likes of Nolan Arenado having another typical season from the hot corner. One of the great third-baseman of his generation, Arenado unfortunately left early during Friday's tilt due to a tight back. With Nolan's availability up in the air, the Cardinals may need to be more patient in their at-bats and generate a fair share of walks to create havoc on the base-paths and produce scoring opportunities.

If all else fails, St. Louis will at least have Dakota Hudson on the mound who has yet to lose a game this season. Even more encouragingly, Hudson is 1-1 with a minuscule 1.59 ERA in three career starts against Philadelphia. With a dirty pitching arsenal that often leaves hitters baffled, don't be alarmed if Hudson puts together another solid outing to give his squad some hope and to help cover the spread.

Why The Phillies Could Cover The Spread

Incredibly, the Phillies have become accustomed to crushing baseballs deep into the night. Indeed, Philadelphia has gone deep an MLB-best 45 times in the month of August which has been a big reason why they have found such success before the final 30 days of the regular season.

More specifically, not many players from around the league have been as scorching hot than Bryce Harper. In his past eight games, Harper has gone 14-30 including five homers, nine RBIs, and eleven runs scored over that span. Additionally, the Phillies are certainly no one-trick pony offensively, as the slugging Kyle Schwarber is also in the middle of a power surge that has seen him obliterate eight baseballs into the stands during the month of August.

While Philadelphia could find themselves out-slugging St. Louis en route to covering the spread, but having a pitcher like Zach Wheeler on the mound only helps. After suffering somewhat of a setback in his last start resulting in giving up four runs in a 4-3 loss to the lowly Washington Nationals, a bounce back outing should be expected considering that he has pitched well in his starts coming at Citizens Bank Park.

Final Cardinals-Phillies Prediction & Pick

Historically, the Cardinals and Phillies both have endured a plethora of success within the National League, but this year has been different. For the second consecutive evening, the Phillies should have no issue of shutting down the ‘Cards especially if Arenado is too banged up to play.

Final Cardinals-Phillies Prediction & Pick: Phillies -1.5 (-104)