St. Louis Cardinals vs San Diego Padres Preview
There does appear to be a chance for light rain in St. Louis on Thursday, where the forecasted temperature is 81 degrees. The Padres and Cardinals are facing off at Busch Stadium, and first pitch is set for 2:15 PM ET.
San Diego is 76-59 and 3rd in the NL West, while the Cardinals are 3rd in the NL Central with an overall record of 66-67. The money line odds have the Padres at -112 compared to the Cardinals at -107. Sonny Gray is set to start for the Cardinals, while the Padres are starting Michael King.
Check out BetCoco for St. Louis Cardinals – San Diego Padres odds
St. Louis Cardinals vs. San Diego Padres Trends and Key Stats
- The Padres are 3-2 across their last five road games. They have gone 3-2 vs. the runline.
- Conversely, the Cardinals have achieved a 2-3 (SU) record and 2-3 record in their last five home games.
- In their previous ten games, Padres have won 5-5 as favorites and 5-5 as underdogs.
- 3-7 is the record of the Cardinals as the favorite, while their record as the underdog stands at 6-4.
St. Louis picked up a 4-3 win over the Padres in the most recent game of this series. The Cardinals had a three-run 4th inning and scored the game’s go-ahead run in the 9th. As for the Padres, they scored two runs in the 1st and didn’t score another run until putting up one run in the 8th.
Andre Pallante got the start for the Cardinals, going just 5 2/3 innings while giving up two runs and striking out three. Ryan Helsley got the win out of the bullpen, and Robert Suarez took the loss for the Padres.
Kyle Higashioka hit the game’s only home run while going 1/4 with three RBIs, but it came in a losing effort. Paul Goldschmidt did a bit of everything for the Cardinals, going 3/4 with an RBI and scoring a run.
St. Louis Cardinals vs San Diego Padres Prediction
San Diego is 76-59 overall this season, and they are 4th in the NL West, four games behind the Dodgers for the division lead. In their division, they have gone just 20-20 this year. The Padres have gone 39-27 on the road compared to 37-32 at home.
So far, the Padres have been good as the favorite, going 48-37, and they are 28-22 as the underdog. San Diego has an overall series record of 26-14-4 this year. Currently, the Padres are winning their series vs. the Cardinals.
San Diego has been a profitable run line team on the road this season, going 43-23. Their average run margin on the road is +1.2, while their overall average run margin is +0.5. The Padres have been a better run line bet as an underdog than as a favorite, going 35-15 vs. the number as a dog compared to 35-50 as a favorite.
The San Diego Padres are on the road today against the St. Louis Cardinals. The over/under line for today’s game is set at 8 runs, which is right around their season average of 8 runs per game. The Padres have played 73 games that have gone over the total this season, and their games have an average combined run total of 9.0 runs per game.
Right-hander Michael King gets the start for the Padres today as he faces the Cardinals on the road. He has made 25 starts this season and has a record of 11-7 with an ERA of 3.14. King’s WHIP for the season is currently 1.18. In his last outing, he took the loss, giving up five earned runs in five innings of work. Before that, he had picked up the win in two straight outings. King has been much better at home this year, coming in with a record of 8-2, compared to 3-5 on the road. His ERA at home is 3.66, while it is 3.31 on the road.
As a team, the Padres are batting a league-best .266 this season, and they are also the best in the MLB at avoiding strikeouts. So far, they are averaging 4.8 runs per game, which is 11th in the league. San Diego has been even better on the road, averaging 5.1 runs per game.
Jurickson Profar and Manny Machado have been the Padres’ top power threats this season, as they are 1st and 2nd on the team in homers, respectively. Profar’s 80 RBIs are the best mark on the team and 14th in the league. Machado is also 15th in the league in RBIs (79). Over his last eight games, Machado is 10/29 with two homers, while Luis Arraez has gone 14/35 in that stretch.
With a record of 66-67, the Cardinals are 10.5 games behind the Brewers for the NL Central lead. So far this season, they have gone 19-23 in divisional games. The Cardinals are also in 3rd place in the NL Central, just a half-game behind the Cubs for the 2nd spot in the division.
At home, the Cardinals are 35-32 this season, and they are 31-35 on the road. St. Louis has won two straight series and has an overall series record of 21-18-4 this year. As the home underdog, the Cardinals have gone 13-8 this year.
When betting the run line on the St. Louis Cardinals this season, it’s been more profitable to take them as the underdog, as they are 44-23 against the run line in those situations. Their overall run line record is 65-68, with an average run margin of -0.5 runs per game. The Cardinals have been a better run line bet on the road, where they are 32-34 against the run line, compared to 33-34 at home. Their average run margin in winning games is +2.7 runs, compared to -3.6 runs in losing games.
St. Louis has had a high-scoring season, with a combined run average of 8.6 runs per game. Their over/under record is 63-67, and the average over/under line in their games is 8 runs. When the line is set at 8 runs, their record is 9-13-1. Overall, 58.6% of their games have had over/under lines set at over 8 runs.
Sonny Gray will be looking to bounce back from a rough outing vs. the Twins, as he gets the start for the Cardinals today. In that start, he took the loss and gave up five earned runs in six innings of work. Looking back over his last three starts, Gray has taken the loss in each outing and has given up a combined 13 earned runs. Gray’s record for the season is 11-9, and his ERA is 4.07. Out of his 24 starts, he has turned in 10 quality starts and is averaging 11.12 strikeouts per nine innings. Overall, Gray has 175 strikeouts, which ranks sixth in the majors.
St. Louis comes into the game with a team batting average of .247, which is 8th in the league. However, they are near the bottom of the league in runs per game, averaging just 4.1 runs per contest. The Cardinals have been a bit better at home, putting up 4.3 runs per game.
Paul Goldschmidt has been on a tear of late, going 9/23 in his last six games, including one home run and four RBIs. Goldschmidt is also on a four-game hitting streak. Masyn Winn has also been swinging the bat well, going 15/34 in his last eight games. For the season, Alec Burleson is batting .279 with a team-high 21 home runs.
Our pick for this Padres and Cardinals matchup is to take the Padres on the money line, with the payout being -112. We have the Padres winning this one by a score of 5-4.
Looking at the starting pitchers, we do have Sonny Gray finishing with more strikeouts than Michael King. However, Gray is projected to finish with just five K’s, which is the fifth lowest among all starters today. As for King, he is projected to finish with six strikeouts.
St. Louis Cardinals vs San Diego Padres Betting Tips
- We like the Padres on the moneyline (-112)
- The Padres are also our pick on the spread at -1.5
- Projecting a combined 9 runs, we like the over
St. Louis Cardinals Injury Report
| Player | Status | Injury |
|---|---|---|
| Lance Lynn | Out | Knee |
| Steven Matz | Out | Back |
| Willson Contreras | Out | Finger |
| Keynan Middleton | Out | Forearm |
| Drew Rom | Out | Biceps |
| Michael Siani | Out | Oblique |
San Diego Padres Injury Report
| Player | Status | Injury |
|---|---|---|
| Yu Darvish | Out | Groin |
| Jay Groome | Out | Suspension |
| Fernando Tatis Jr. | Out | Tricep |
| Wandy Peralta | Out | Groin |
| Ha-Seong Kim | Out | Shoulder |
| Luis Patiño | Out | Elbow |
| Stephen Kolek | Out | Forearm |
