The San Deigo Padres start their series with the St. Louis Cardinals today. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with a Padres-Cardinals prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.

The Padres come into the series after being swept by the Brewers. They have lost seven of their last ten games, and hopes for a playoff birth are fading.  The Padres are now 61-70 on the season and 20 games out of first place in the NL West. They are also eight games behind the Diamondbacks for the last Wild Card spot. The Giants, Reds, and Marlins are all in the way as well, plus they are tied with the Nationals at eight games out.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals also come into this game off of being swept. They lost all three games to the Phillies. The Cardinals have dealt with inconsistency and injuries all year long, leading them to a 56-75 record on the year. That gives them the second-worst record in the National League, only ahead of the Colorado Rockies, and 13 games removed from a playoff spot.

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

MLB Odds: Padres-Cardinals Odds

San Deigo Padres: -1.5 (-128)

St. Louis Cardinals: +1.5 (+106)

Over: 9 (-112)

Under: 9 (-108)

How To Watch Padres vs. Cardinals

TV: SDPA/BSMW

Stream: MLB.TV

Time: 7:45 PM ET/ 4:45 PM PT

*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why The Padres Could Cover The Spread

The Padres pitching let them down over the weekend. They gave up 22 runs in three games losing all of them. On the year, the Padres pitching has been solid. They are fifth in the majors in team ERA while sitting 14th in WHIP and sixth in opponent batting average. They send Blake Snell to the mound today who is 10-9 with a major league-best 2.73 ERA. He has not been quite as good this month as he had been. In July, Snell made six starts with a 0.56 ERA. Since then, he has made three starts with a 3.91 ERA, going 2-1. The Padres have won three of his four starts though. The major issue for Snell as of late has been the home run. He has given up one in each of his last four starts while he did not give one up in July.

Meanwhile, at the plate the Padres are tied for 14th in the majors in runs scored, while sitting 25th in batting average, 14th in on-base percentage, and 17th in slugging. Manny Machado has been driving in the most runs as of late for the squad. In the last week, he has five RBIs while hitting two home runs and a double. He is hitting .286 at the plate with a .360 on-base percentage and has scored three times. Ha-Seong Kim has been scoring well for the Padres. While he is hitting just .190, he has walked five times in the last week, giving him a .346 on-base percentage. While hitting a home run and two doubles, plus stealing two bases, he has scored five times in the last week.

The hottest bat in the lineup may be Garrett Cooper. Cooper is hitting .400 in the last week with a .455 on-base percentage. While he does not have an RBI in the last week, he has scored three runs. Meanwhile, Juan Soto has a .320 on-base percentage in the last week with a home run and three RBIs. Overall, the Padres are struggling though. They are hitting just .203 in the last week, with a .296 on-base percentage. They have struck out 62 times in the last week, just under once every three at-bats in the last week.

Why The Cardinals Could Cover The Spread

Like the Padres, the Cardinals have struggled as of late pitching. They have given up 22 runs in the last three games. The Cardinals are 24th in the majors in team ERA, 28th in WHIP, and 29th in opponent batting average this season. They sent Adam Wainwright to the mound today. He is 3-9 on the season with an 8.61 ERA. He has been awful this month. In four starts he has given up 24 runs in just 14.2 innings of work. That is good for a 14.73 ERA. Wainwright has given up three or more runs in each of his four starts and he has lost all four starts this month.

At the plate the Cardinals are tied for 14th in the majors in runs scored this year, while sitting tenth in batting average, seventh in on-base percentage, and eighth in slugging. In the last week, Richie Palacios has been the hottest bat in the lineup. He is hitting .357 in the last week with a .400 on-base percentage. He has a home run and three RBIs in the last week as well. Still, the only run he has scored in the last week has been on his home run while he has been stranded on base regularly.

Paul Goldschmidt has been doing the most scoring on the team. He has scored four times in the last week but is hitting just .250 this past week. He does have a .348 on-base percentage in the last week while hitting a double and home run. Goldschmidt also has three RBIs in the last week.  As a whole, the team is struggling to hit. They are hitting just .175 in the last week while having a .249 on-base percentage. The Cardinals have scored just 13 times in those games as well. They are averaging creating just 2.2 runs per game currently. If that can tick up, they can cover this one.

Final Padres-Cardinals Prediction & Pick

Adam Wainwright has continued to struggle this year. He has pitched past six innings just one time this year, while he had only given up less than two runs one time. Meanwhile, he has given up five or more runs eight times this season. Meanwhile, Snell may be leading the pack for the Cy Young in the NL. He has been one of the best pitchers in the league so far. While the Padres offense has struggled, the Cardinals have been worse. Take the Padres in this one.

Final Padres-Cardinals Prediction & Pick: Padres -1.5 (-128)