The Atlanta Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals will open a three-game series on Tuesday night. It's time to continue our MLB odds series and make a Braves-Cardinals prediction and pick.

Both of these teams have playoff hopes heading into this game. The Braves trail first place in the NL East by only 3.5 games, but that's only good enough for third in their division. The Cardinals are also third in their division, but they trail the Milwaukee Brewers by a full ten games in the NL Central. It's hard to see St. Louis making the postseason, but if they start winning games like this one consistently they have a shot.

Here's how the bookmakers have set the odds for this series opener.

MLB Odds: Braves-Cardinals Odds

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Atlanta Braves ML (-125)

St. Louis Cardinals ML (+115)

Over 8 1/2 runs (-121)

Under 8 1/2 runs (+101)

Why The Braves Could Cover The Spread

Atlanta will send starting pitcher Max Fried to the mound for Tuesday's game. Fried has had a solid year so far, posting a 4.32 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. Both of those numbers when we look at his last seven starts. Over that span, Fried has put together a 3.95 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. He's pitching better baseball and his stats reflect that. He should keep it going against the struggling St. Louis offense.

The Cardinals have had a rough year at the plate. They rank inside the bottom ten in the MLB in batting average, OBP, OPS, and slugging percentage. Fried has already faced this offense once this season, and the results were fantastic. The lefty put together seven innings of one-run ball, earning a victory in the process.

Atlanta will face the brand new Cardinals pitcher Jon Lester in this one. Lester has had a rough season, earning himself a 5.02 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP. His numbers get even worse in his last seven starts, with both his ERA and WHIP rising significantly. The Braves are far from an offensive powerhouse, but they should be able to hit Lester with ease.

Why The Cardinals Could Cover The Spread

The Cardinals have a tough matchup in opposing starter Max Fried, but there's some reason to believe that they can put up some runs against him. St. Louis is slightly better offensively when they face a lefty, sporting a higher batting average, OBP, OPS, and slugging percentage against southpaws than they do against righties. The Cardinals are also stronger at the plate when they play at home, seeing their offensive stats rise across the board when they play in Busch Stadium. The St. Louis lineup sports five hitters that own a career batting average of .300 or higher against Fried, so these hitters have clearly had success against him in the past.

Lester may have some uninspiring stats, but he seems to have Atlanta's number. The lefty has started two games against the Braves this season, and each outing ended well for Lester. He's pitched a total of ten innings against Atlanta, allowing only four runs over that span. Another good outing is certainly possible for Lester.

Final Braves-Cardinals Prediction & Pick

This game is essentially a coin flip, making either team a risky pick. However, the over looks great here. The Braves should be able to contribute at least five runs over the course of the game, with a majority of those runs coming against Lester. The Cardinals have shown that they can hit Fried well, so their typically dormant offense should be able to contribute a significant amount towards breaking the over.

FINAL PICK: Over 8 1/2 runs (-121)