Some fun and intriguing inter-league action is set to take place later tonight as the National League St. Louis Cardinals take on the American League Seattle Mariners for an epic clash on the diamond. It is time to take an inclusive look at our MLB odds series where our Cardinals-Mariners prediction and pick will be made.
It hasn't been an ideal start to the Cardinals' season with an 8-11 record, but by no means do they not have the talent to compete on a day-to-day basis. Coming off of an offensive eruption that resulted in a 14-5 demolition of the Diamondbacks, St. Louis will send out the lefty in Steven Matz with the hopes that he can turn things around. As its stands, Matz is 0-2 with a 6.48 ERA to begin the year.
As for the Mariners, Seattle clinched a berth to the postseason in 2022 for the first time in more than decades and currently possesses as high of expectations as they have in quite some time. Like the Cardinals, Seattle has gotten off to a rough start at 8-11, and has also been rather lackadaisical at home with a 5-8 record. Nevertheless, the hurler in George Kirby will get the Friday night start as he has posted a 1-1 record to go along with a 3.78 ERA.
Here are the Cardinals-Mariners MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Cardinals-Mariners Odds
St. Louis Cardinals: +1.5 (-196)
Seattle Mariners: -1.5 (+162)
Over: 8 (-110)
Under: 8 (-110)
How To Watch Cardinals vs. Mariners
TV: Bally Sports Midwest/ROOT Sports Northwest
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 10:10 ET/7:10 PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Cardinals Could Cover The Spread
A year ago, the Cardinals fell short in the postseason in a disheartening loss in the Wild Card to the Phillies, but expectations are still high for this St. Louis squad to take that next step into becoming World Series contenders. While there is still a ton of season left to be played, the Cardinals' sluggish start especially when it comes to their pitching is something that has raised concerns in and around this clubhouse.
Without a doubt, the Cardinals would benefit greatly in covering the spread and even securing a win if Steven Matz can turn back the clock and pitch a solid quality start. After getting absolutely rocked by the Rockies for six runs, Matz took a step in the right direction by surrendering only a pair of runs along with six strikeouts in an extra-innings loss to the Pirates. On paper, the Mariners possess a scary-good offense that can certainly inflict damage, so the odds of the Cardinals covering may end up solely falling on Matz' shoulders.
On the other side of things, few hitters within this clubhouse have been as dynamic as second-baseman Nolan Gorman. Believe it or not, Gorman leads the club in batting average, home runs, and RBIs. As a whole, the Cardinals are fresh off of a 14-run outing and will need to get off to a quick start on the road if they want to have that offensive production carryover. Above all else, St. Louis remains as one of the top-hitting teams in the majors and should cover the spread if they continue on their roll.
Why The Mariners Could Cover The Spread
Like previously mentioned, the Mariners are in a similar position as the Cardinals, as a big-time spread-covering could do wonders for Seattle moving forward. Alas, it all starts with the overall consistency of this team, as the Mariners often look like the playoff team of last year but tend to look extremely sluggish at times.
Overall, Seattle's best route to a cover happens to be improving their hitting approach throughout the night. Over the course of their 19 games played on the season, the M's are slashing an underwhelming .228 which is well below the league average. In addition, their 4.47 runs per game also rank as the 19th-most in all of baseball. Simply put, Seattle's recent letdown versus the Brewers was alarming, but scoring runs and generating traffic on the base paths could end up returning them back to the win column.
Pitching-wise, the Mariners do happen to be slightly better on the mound than within the batter's box thus far, but it still hasn't been anything special. In fact, Seattle's arm got blown up for 18 runs over three games versus Milwaukee and seemingly could not get into a rhythm on the bump to save their lives. Still, there is something to be intriguing about in regards to George Kirby, who might not strike out a whole lot of batters but keeps a majority of hitters off-balanced to record-outs. In fact, Kirby has tossed two quality starts in three outings on the year. If Kirby is throwing strikes, then lookout!
Final Cardinals-Mariners Prediction & Pick
Both sides are off to slow starts, but after the Cardinals finally looked to turn a corner in their win against the D-Backs, don't be shocked if that carries over to Friday night versus the Mariners.
Final Cardinals-Mariners Prediction & Pick: Cardinals +1.5 (-196)
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