The St. Louis Cardinals will attempt to avoid a sweep as they finish off a three-game set with the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. It's time to continue our MLB odds series with a Cardinals-Padres prediction and pick.
It is a potential playoff preview as the Cards meet the Padres. The Cards hope to avoid a sweep and score their first series run. The only run of last night's game came in the second inning when Austin Nola singled to center to drive in a run. Following that, it was shutout baseball as both pitchers tossed terrific games. Miles Mikolas tossed six innings while allowing one run (none earned) on three hits with six strikeouts. Meanwhile, Blake Snell tossed seven shutout innings while allowing two hits and striking out 13 batters while throwing 117 pitches.
The Cardinals lead the season series 3-2 but have yet to score a run in this series at Petco. However, if the two are to meet in the playoffs, it will be either in a three-game series in the opening round at Busch Stadium or in the National League Championship Series.\
Jack Flaherty takes the mound for the Cardinals today. Flaherty is 0-1 with a 5.09 ERA. Recently, he tossed five innings while allowing four earned runs on six hits. Flaherty is 0-1 with a 4.80 ERA over three starts in September. Significantly, he is 1-0 with a 1.10 ERA over three starts against the Padres, with his last start in 2019.
Joe Musgrove is the man on the mound for the Padres. Musgrove is 10-7 with a 3.16 ERA. Recently, he tossed six shutout innings while allowing four hits. Musgrove is 1-1 with a 4.60 ERA over three starts in September. However, he has struggled against the Cards in his career, going 2-7 with a 5.53 ERA over 10 starts.
Here are the Cardinals-Padres MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Cardinals-Padres Odds
St. Louis Cardinals: +1.5 (-178)
San Diego Padres: -1.5 (+146)
Over: 7.5 (-112)
Under: 7.5 (-108)
Why The Cardinals Could Cover The Spread
The Cardinals are a great team but have slowed down considerably at Petco Park. Consequently, it is worse than that. St. Louis has lost three games in a row and has not scored a run in that three-game stretch. The Cards are batting .117 in this series with seven hits over two games. Moreover, it is a pathetic .102 mark over three games. The Cards have not been able to hit the baseball.
Paul Goldschmidt is one of the best players in baseball. However, he is also struggling, batting .083 (1 for 12) with six strikeouts. Nolan Arenado is the second-best hitter on the team. Unfortunately, he is slumping, hitting .100 (1 for 10) with two strikeouts. The Cardinals need these two to bring the power back to the lineup. Also, they need them to inspire the rest of the lineup to hit the ball. When everyone struggles simultaneously, it makes things plenty frustrating when attempting to pull out of it.
The Cards need to change their strategy at the plate to end the slump. The Cardinals will cover the spread if they can break out of their terrible hitting slump and drive runners in. Additionally, it will help give Flaherty some room to work with.
Why The Padres Could Cover The Spread
The Padres managed one run last night, enough to win. Significantly, things are coming together at the right time, and these Padres are not collapsing like last year's edition.
The Padres are still not hitting the ball hard. No, they are averaging 3.76 runs per game this month. But they are doing just enough to win and win the games that matter. Likewise, they have won 5-0 and 1-0 in this series, showcasing their ability to shut a lineup down. It all starts with starting pitching.
Snell came close to tossing a no-hitter and held the Cards' offense down. Moreover, he confused hitters left and right and left them chasing after pitches that were not there. Musgrove has the chance to replicate that in his start today. Consequently, he has the tools to do the job and must locate the strike zone to execute.
The Padres will cover the spread if they can muster enough runs to overtake the Cards. Then, Musgrove must shut the door and do what his teammates have done over the last two games.
Final Cardinals-Padres Prediction & Pick
The Cardinals look dead. However, they are too talented not to do anything again. They have not scored in three games, so the odds are in their favor of breaking that slump. Expect the Padres also to play along and score. The Cards and Padres will combine for more runs than they have over the last two games and play an exciting thriller in Southern California today.
Final Cardinals-Padres Prediction & Pick: Over: 7.5 (-112)
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