The San Diego Padres host the St. Louis Cardinals for Game 2! It's time to continue our MLB odds series with a Cardinals-Padres prediction and pick.
The Padres took Game 1 last night of what could be a potential Wild Card preview. Mike Clevinger notched 5.2 innings allowing just three hits and walking one. The Friars' bullpen finished off what was a strong pitching performance all around for SD. The Cardinals have an elite offense filled with two MVP-caliber hitters and a slugger two homers shy of 700 for his career. Pitching will be what gets the Padres to the playoffs and last night showed why. St. Louis looks to bounce back after a miserable offensive night.
Here are the Cardinals-Padres MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Cardinals-Padres Odds
St. Louis Cardinals: +1.5 (-192)
San Diego Padres: -1.5 (+158)
Over: 7.5 (-106)
Under: 7.5 (-114)
Why The Cardinals Could Cover The Spread
Starting for the Cardinals is former Friar Mike Mikolas. Mikolas is (11-12) on the season with a 3.46 ERA in 187.1 innings. He has been consistent all season long. He's a far better pitcher at home as his road ERA is at 4.56. His last three road appearances didn't go well and he has allowed 11 combined runs during that stretch. Tonight will be important as he must find a way to shut down the Padres lineup that has been streaky as of late. The right-hander allowed three runs off of five hits against the Cincinnati Reds in his last outing.
All eyes are on Albert Pujols as he is just two homers shy of 700 for his incredible career. Clevinger walked Pujols in his first at-bat last night but the slugger notched two hits later in the game. None carried over the fence but he has a great chance of bringing the milestone to within one before this series ends.
Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado combined for just two hits in the loss and will need to lead the Cardinals in Game 2. Facing a southpaw, the Cardinals lineup is the best in baseball. They have a league-leading .819 OPS which is .33 higher than the Chicago White Sox. They also strike out the second fewest by any team facing a lefty this season. Why does that matter? Because they are facing a lefty strikeout specialist in Blake Snell tonight.
Why The Padres Could Cover The Spread
The 2018 AL CY Young winner will toe the slab for the Padres tonight. The southpaw is having a far better second half of the season compared to the first half. In the second half, he has a 2.70 ERA in exactly 60 innings with 80 strikeouts. Snell is not a qualified player because he missed the first month of the season, however, his ERA would be good for 13th in baseball during the second half of 2022. Overall, his ERA is 3.85 in 110 innings. He has 146 Ks on the season which is tied for 41st in MLB, despite missing a whole month. Snell has a tough task against a lineup that smashes lefties.
Juan Soto and Manny Machado combined for four hits and two RBIs in the win. The pitching ultimately won them the game, but the Padres offense looked like it might have found its rhythm again. It's a streak lineup, that really hasn't done well with Soto at the helm. Furthermore, Soto is batting just .242 on the season. He needs to get back on track and there is no better time than now. Machado has 93 RBIs on the season with 29 homers. It's only a matter of time until he has his first .300 season in the majors with a current .297 batting average.
Final Cardinals-Padres Prediction & Pick
With the two best third basemen in the game, this series is exciting to watch. Snell and Mikolas should be on their game tonight and I think it will be a close battle. Take the Cardinals to cover this spread in what should be a one-score affair.
Final Cardinals-Padres Prediction & Pick: Cardinals +1.5 (-192)