Houston Astros vs St. Louis Cardinals Preview
At 8:10 PM ET, the Cardinals and Astros will square off in an interleague matchup. This one is being played at Minute Maid Park in Houston and has the Astros favored on the money line (-148). The Cardinals are +127 on the money line, and the over/under line is currently 8.5 runs.
Andre Pallante is starting for the Cardinals, and he will be facing off against Spencer Arrighetti. St. Louis is 2nd in the NL Central, while the Astros are 3rd in the AL West.
Check out BetCoco for Houston Astros – St. Louis Cardinals odds
Houston Astros Trends and Key Stats
- Over the course of their previous five away games, the Cardinals have recorded a 2-3 record, with a 2-3 performance on the runline.
- On the other side, the Astros have gone 2-3 (SU) and 2-3 in their previous five home contests.
- Over their last ten games when playing as the favorite, the Astros have won 5-5 straight-up, and have a 4-6 record vs. the runline.
- Looking back at their last ten games as the underdog, the Cardinals have a 6-4 straight-up record and a 6-4 record vs. the runline.
Houston picked up a 7-4 win over the Cardinals in the most recent game of this series. The Astros had a huge 8th inning, scoring four of their seven runs. As for the Cardinals, they scored their final run in the 5th. Heading into the game, the Astros were favored at -188 on the money line.
Justin Verlander got the start for the Astros, going just five innings while giving up four runs and striking out four. Rafael Montero got the win out of the bullpen, and Josh Hader got the save. Kyle Gibson only went 5 2/3 innings for the Cardinals, giving up three earned runs on five hits.
Nolan Gorman hit two homers for the Cardinals and finished with four RBIs, but it came in a losing effort. Yordan Alvarez hit the game’s other home run and drove in two for the Astros.
Houston Astros vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction
St. Louis is 28-30 overall and trails the Brewers by seven games in the NL Central. The Cardinals are 5-7 in divisional games and lost the first game of this series vs. the Astros. Currently, they are just 0.5 games ahead of the Pirates for the final wild card spot.
At home, the Cardinals have gone 13-12 this season while going 15-18 on the road. As the underdog, St. Louis is 14-17 compared to 14-13 as the favorite. Coming into today’s game, the Cardinals are 10-9 in series this year.
When it comes to the run line, the Cardinals have been a good bet this season, going 28-30 overall. They have been slightly better on the road, going 15-18, compared to 13-12 at home. As the underdog, they have been a good bet, going 18-13, while they have struggled as the favorite, going just 10-17.
The St. Louis Cardinals are on the road today against the Houston Astros, and the over/under line for the game is set at 8.5 runs. The Cardinals’ games have averaged 8.5 runs per game this season, and their over/under record is 25-30 overall. When the over/under line has been set at 8.5 runs, the Cardinals have gone over the total 14 times and under 6 times. In total, 20.7% of their games have had over/under lines set at 8.5 runs or higher.
Right-hander Andre Pallante is starting for the Cardinals today as he faces the Astros on the road. So far this season, he has made one start and 10 appearances. Pallante’s record for the season is 1-1, and he has an ERA of 3.94. Looking at his overall numbers, opponents are batting .250 this season. In his one start, Pallante didn’t allow a run and picked up the win, going six innings of work. He has made three straight appearances out of the bullpen and didn’t allow a run in any of those outings.
St. Louis has been one of the worst offensive teams in the league this season, averaging just 3.9 runs per game, which is 26th in the MLB. They have been slightly better at home, averaging 4.1 runs per game. As a team, they are batting .233, which is 16th in the league, and are also near the bottom of the league in terms of their slugging percentage and OPS.
Nolan Gorman has been the Cardinals’ top power threat this season, as his 13 home runs are 7th best in the league. He is also batting .230 for the season and has gone 11/33 with five homers over his last nine games. Paul Goldschmidt and Alec Burleson are also tied for 2nd on the team with seven homers apiece.
The Astros are 27-34 overall and trail the Mariners by seven games in the AL West. So far, they have gone 13-11 against other teams in the division. Houston is at home today, where they are 16-17 this year and 11-17 on the road.
As the favorite, the Astros have gone 21-27 this year and 6-7 as the underdog. So far, they have an overall series record of 8-10-1 and have dropped two straight series.
When betting on the Astros’ run line, it’s been a mixed bag. They are 25-36 overall, with a 14-19 record at home. They have a negative run differential on the road (-1.0) and are 11-17 vs. the run line away from Minute Maid Park. Houston is 18-30 vs. the run line as the favorite and 7-6 as the underdog. In their wins, they have an average run differential of +4.1, but in losses, it’s -3.4.
With an average combined run average of 8.8 runs per game, the Houston Astros have seen their games go over the total in 22 of their 36 games this season. Their games have had an average over/under line of 9 runs, but when the line has been set at 8.5 runs, they have gone over the total in just 5 of 15 games. Overall, 47.5% of their games have had over/under lines set at 8.5 runs or higher.
Right-hander Spencer Arrighetti gets the start for the Astros today as he faces the Cardinals at home. So far this season, he has made nine starts and has a record of 3-5 with a 5.98 ERA. Arrighetti’s WHIP for the season is 1.65, and opponents are batting .272 off him this year. In his last outing, he didn’t give up a run in six innings of work, picking up the win. Before that, he had given up at least two earned runs in four straight starts. Arrighetti has a walk rate of 4.74 per nine innings compared to 10.51 strikeouts.
So far this season, the Astros offense is averaging 4.4 runs per game, which is 13th in the league. They have been a better offensive team at home, averaging 4.8 runs per game. As a team, they are batting .258, which is the 2nd best mark in the league, and they also have the top on-base percentage in the league. Houston is also the top home run hitting team in the league.
Yordan Alvarez has been swinging a hot bat of late, going 12/26 in his last seven games with three homers. For the season, he is batting .287 with 27 RBIs. Kyle Tucker has been a big power threat for the Astros, as his 19 homers are 2nd in the league, and he is batting .266 for the season.
Our predicted final score for this game is 5-4 in favor of the Astros, and with them at -148 on the money line, that is the way we recommend playing this one.
Looking at the starting pitchers, our projections have Andre Pallante finishing with just four strikeouts and Spencer Arrighetti with five. However, we have Arrighetti going six innings and Pallante going seven, which is why we have Arrighetti as the better option to pick up a win.
Houston Astros vs St. Louis Cardinals Betting Tips
- Take the Astros on the moneyline
- On the run line we like the Cardinals (+1.5)
- Projecting a combined 9 runs, we like the over
Houston Astros Injury Report
| Player | Status | Injury |
|---|---|---|
| Kendall Graveman | Out | Shoulder |
| Lance McCullers Jr. | Out | Forearm |
| Kyle Tucker | Questionable | Shin |
| Cristian Javier | Out | Forearm |
| Luis Garcia | Out | Elbow |
| Bennett Sousa | Out | Shoulder |
| José Urquidy | Out | Forearm |
| Penn Murfee | Out | Elbow |
| Oliver Ortega | Out | Elbow |
St. Louis Cardinals Injury Report
| Player | Status | Injury |
|---|---|---|
| Steven Matz | Out | Back |
| Willson Contreras | Out | Forearm |
| Keynan Middleton | Out | Forearm |
| Giovanny Gallegos | Out | Shoulder |
| Tommy Edman | Out | Wrist |
| Drew Rom | Out | Biceps |
| Riley O’Brien | Out | Forearm |
| Lars Nootbaar | Out | Oblique |
| Nick Robertson | Out | Elbow |
