The St. Louis Cardinals (87-61) travel west tonight to take on the San Diego Padres (81-66) in the first of a three-game series. Adam Wainwright (11-9) is projected to start for the Cardinals, while Mike Clevinger (5-7) will take the bump for the Padres. First pitch is slated for 9:40 ET. It's time to continue our MLB odds series with a Cardinals-Padres prediction and pick.
Adam Wainwright seems to have held off Father Time for at least one more year, boasting a 3.29 ERA this season. Wainwright has paced the Cardinals in ERA and wins this season, proving to yet again be St. Louis’ ace on the mound. Despite a stellar season, Wainwright hasn’t been his usual self of late, having given up at 4 runs in two of his last four outings. Despite that, ‘Waino was lights-out in his only previous start against San Diego this season – giving up no runs in 7 innings while striking out 10 in St. Louis’ 3-2 victory on May 31st.
On the other side for the San Diego Padres, starter Mike Clevinger has had a solid, albeit unspectacular season. Clevinger has a 4.47 ERA in 19 starts this year with just a 5-7 record. His play of late has been particularly worrisome. The Padres starter was rocked for 6 runs in his last outing and hasn’t sniffed the 6th inning in nearly a month. The long-ball has been Clevinger’s kryptonite of late as he’s given up a home run in each of his previous 5 outings.
Here are the Cardinals-Padres MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Cardinals-Padres Odds
St. Louis Cardinals: -1.5 (+155)
San Diego Padres: +1.5 (-188)
Over: 8 (-112)
Under: 8 (-108)
Why The Cardinals Could Cover The Spread
The Cardinals have been solid of late, winning 6 of their last 10 games. The NL’s Centrals first-place team have distanced themselves from the pack since the All-Star break as they are now 8.5 games up in the division. The biggest storyline for the ‘Cards, though, has been Albert Pujol’s chase for 700 career home runs. Entering tonight’s game, Pujols needs just 2 more homers to reach the historic benchmark. The energy Pujols’ quest for 700 brings on a nightly basis has infected seems to have infected the entire team.
St. Louis boasts one of baseball’s most dangerous offenses, led by MVP-candidate Paul Goldschmidt. Although the pitching staff doesn’t have a ton of household names, ace Adam Wainwright will take the bump tonight – giving the St. Louis offense confidence their efforts at the plate will be rewarded on the other side. Despite a healthy lead in their division, the Cardinals' eyes are set on carrying their success into post-season play. Heading into the final stretch of the season, a series win over a team they very well could see in the playoffs is firmly in St. Louis’ line of sights. It’s worth noting the Cardinals swept the Padres in their 3-game series back in June.
Why The Padres Could Cover The Spread
While the Padres struggled in their earlier season meeting with the Cardinals, Padres fans will point to a key acquisition that could potentially flip the script this time around – Juan Soto. Since being traded to San Diego, the superstar outfielder has batted .221 with just 4 home runs. The Padres are 21-20 since Soto appeared for the team on August 4th. While these aren’t spectacular numbers, the Padres added Soto in hopes of a late-season push. Well, we’ve hit the “late season” point of the schedule. A player of Soto’s caliber could turn things around with a single swing of the bat.
Even if he doesn’t, the Padres lineup is chalk-full of capable hitters. Star third-baseman Manny Machado has put together yet another excellent season for San Diego. Macho has hit .296 with 29 home runs this season, notably boasting a .895 OPS – good for 7th in the MLB. San Diego is 6-4 in their last 10 games but certainly have incentive to keep adding to the winning column. The Padres are just 2.5 games up in the Wildcard race currently.
Final Cardinals-Padres Prediction & Pick
Two playoff team’s meeting up this late in the season makes for a tough pick at -1.5, but the Cardinals prior success against the Padres this season bodes well for St. Louis. Throw in Wainwright on the mound for St. Louis, and the plus odds for the Cardinals is too juicy to pass up.
Final Cardinals-Padres Prediction & Pick: Cardinals -1.5 (+155)
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