The New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals are set for Game 3 of their 4-game series! It's time to continue our MLB odds series with a Cardinals-Mets prediction and pick.

 

The Cardinals and Mets split the doubleheader on Tuesday and so Game 3 is an important one for both teams. The Cardinals are (20-16) on the season but are struggling as of late going just (4-6) in their last 10 games. New York is (24-14) on the year and is leading the NL East Division. The Mets are (5-5) in their last 10 games. This should be a great game with max Scherzer on the mound for the Mets.

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

MLB Odds: Cardinals-Mets Odds:

St. Louis Cardinals: +1.5 (-140)

New York Mets: -1.5 (+116) 

Over: 7 (-105)

Under: 7 (-115)

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Why The Cardinals Could Cover The Spread

Former closer Jordan Hicks will start for the Cardinals and it's been an interesting season so far for him. He's (1-3) with a 4.15 ERA in 21.2 innings pitched. He's walked 12 batters this season which is not a good sign with the number of innings he's pitched. His last outing is the only time he has gone past five innings but allowed three runs in the loss to the San Francisco Giants.

The Cardinals took Game 2 of the DH yesterday thanks to Paul Goldschmidt's two RBI doubles. Goldy is hitting the ball well this season at .321 with five homers and 23 RBIs. Nolan Arenado is the star of the show, however, as he is batting .300 with eight homers and 29 RBIs with an on-base slugging percentage of .938. the lineup has three batters hitting over .300 as Brendan Donovan is also hitting well this year batting .323. With Tommy Edman playing well this lineup has the chance to be one of the best in baseball. If those players show up against Scherzer today then the Cardinals can cover this spread.

St. Louis is (20-16) against the spread this season but is (12-7) when they are the underdog as they are tonight.

Why The Mets Could Cover The Spread

Max Scherzer is on the bump for the Mets and that is a great sign for New York fans. The ace has been brilliant this season going (4-1) to start the year with a 2.66 ERA in 44 innings pitched. He has a WHIP of 0.91 which is 7th in the league and 55 strikeouts which is tied for 5th. There is nothing Mad Max can't do.

The Mets are winning a majority of their games because of their pitching, similar to the San Diego Padres. The Mets' offense is stacked with proven hitters, but what it doesn't have is a solidified stud offensively. Pete Alonso is batting just .257 on the season and Francisco Lindor is hitting .228. That kind of production needs to improve from their stars. Jeff McNeil leads the team with a .312 average as the only starter batting above .300. Yes, Alonso is tied for 4th in RBIs with 29 but the lineup needs to see a more consistent production from him if they want to get to the next level.

The Mets can cover this spread if their offensive provides help for Scherzer. Mad Max will likely pitch well, resulting in a low-scoring affair for the Cardinals.

Final Cardinals-Mets Prediction & Pick

The under in this matchup is the best call to make. I can't see either side scoring more than four runs as it's been low-scoring this series so far. However, with Scherzer on the bump for the Mets, it's hard not to take them with how well he is pitching.

Final Cardinals-Mets Prediction & Pick: Mets -1.5 (+116) and under 7 (-115)