St. Louis Cardinals vs Atlanta Braves Preview
The Braves and Cardinals are set to face off in an NL matchup at 1:45 PM ET at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO. The Braves have the second-best record in the NL East of 43-33, while the Cardinals are 40-37 and they have won four straight.</
Wednesday’s matchup is Braves vs. Cardinals, with Reynaldo Lopez on the mound for the Braves and Kyle Gibson for the Cardinals. Atlanta is favored on the money line, and the over/under line is at 8 runs. BSMW will be televising Wednesday’s game.
Check out BetCoco for St. Louis Cardinals – Atlanta Braves odds
St. Louis Cardinals Trends and Key Stats
- Across their last five road games, the Braves are 3-2. This includes going 3-2 vs. the runline.
- On the other side, the Cardinals have gone 2-3 (SU) and 1-4 in their previous five home contests.
- In their last ten games as the favorite, the Braves have a straight-up record of 8-2 and a runline record of 6-4.
- The Cardinals have a 4-6 record vs. the runline and a 6-4 straight-up record in their last ten games as the underdog.
It was a low-scoring game in the most recent game of this Cardinals vs Braves series. St. Louis went into the matchup as +107 underdogs and squeaked out a 4-3 win. The Cardinals had a huge 3rd inning, scoring all four of their runs. As for the Braves, they scored one run in the 5th inning and added two more in the 9th.
Lance Lynn got the win for the Cardinals, going 6 2/3 innings and giving up just one run. He finished the game with five strikeouts but issued zero walks. As for the Braves, Spencer Schwellenbach got the start and took the loss, giving up four earned runs in five innings of work.
Austin Riley hit the game’s only home run while going 2/4 with three RBIs, but it came in a losing effort. Brendan Donovan did a bit of everything for the Cardinals, going 3/4 with an RBI.
St. Louis Cardinals vs Atlanta Braves Prediction
With an overall record of 43-33, the Braves are 2nd in the NL East, 7.5 games behind the Phillies for the division lead. The Braves lost the first game of this series vs. the Cardinals, and their overall division record is 12-11 this year. Over the last ten games, the Braves have gone 7-3.
At home, the Braves have gone 24-13 this year, and they are just above .500 at 19-20 on the road. So far, they have been good as the favorite, going 40-27, and they are 3-6 as the underdog this year. Atlanta’s overall series record is 15-8-2, and they have won three straight series.
So far this season, the Braves have been a pretty good bet on the run line, as they are 37-39 overall. They have been better on the road than at home, with a 20-19 run line record away from Atlanta. They’ve been favored in most games, and their run line record as the favorite is 32-35. They have an average run margin of +0.6 runs per game, and that number jumps to +3.7 in their wins.
The Braves are on the road in St. Louis today, where the over/under line is set at 8 runs. Atlanta’s games have averaged 8.2 runs per game this season, and their over/under record is 28-45. When the line is set at 8 runs, their over/under record is 4-3. Overall, 72.4% of their games have had higher lines than 8 runs, and their current under streak is at 2 games.
Right-hander Reynaldo López gets the start for the Braves today as he faces the Cardinals on the road. He has made 13 starts this season and has a record of 5-2 with a 1.57 ERA. Opponents are batting .208 off López this season, and he has turned in eight quality starts. In his last outing, he didn’t allow a run and picked up the win, going five innings of work. Before that, he had given up at least one earned run in three straight outings. López has been especially tough on the road, coming in with a 2.29 ERA compared to 1.05 at home.
Marcell Ozuna has been one of the league’s top power hitters so far this season, as his 21 home runs are 4th in the league and the top mark in the Braves lineup. Ozuna has also been a force in terms of driving in runs, as his 64 RBIs are 3rd in the MLB. He is also on a three-game hitting streak. Over his last six games, Austin Riley is batting .333 with two homers, while Sean Murphy has also gone deep twice in his last four games, hitting .400.
Overall, the Braves are averaging 4.4 runs per game, which is 14th in the league. They are also a top 10 team in terms of home runs and have a collective batting average of .245. As a team, they have been very good at putting the ball in play, as their collective BABIP is the 6th best mark in the league.
St. Louis is hosting the Braves today with an overall record of 40-37, which has them 2nd in the NL Central. They are 5.5 games behind the Brewers for the division lead. The Cardinals have won four straight games, and they are 7-3 across their last 10.
At home, the Cardinals are 21-15 this year, and they have gone 19-22 on the road. St. Louis has won six straight games at home, and they are 7-4 as the home underdog this year. As the underdog overall, the Cardinals are an even 20-20, and they are 20-17 when favored.
When the Cardinals win, they tend to win big, averaging a +2.4 run margin in those games. When they lose, they lose by an average of -3.4 runs per game. Despite their negative run differential on the season (-0.4), they have been a profitable run line team, going 40-37. They have been particularly strong at home, going 22-14 on the run line, and they are currently riding an eight-game run line win streak at home.
When the St. Louis Cardinals play at home, the over/under line is set at 8 runs. Their combined run average is 8.5 runs per game. This season, the over/under record is 33-41, and the average line is set at 8 runs. When the line is set at 8 runs, the over/under record is 5-9-1. The majority of their games have had lines set at over 8 runs, with 41 out of 77 games having higher lines. The percentage of games with lines set over 8 runs is 53.2%.
Right-hander Kyle Gibson gets the start for the Cardinals today as he faces the Braves at home. He has made 14 starts this season and has a record of 5-2 with a 3.44 ERA. In his last outing, Gibson was excellent, going seven innings and not giving up a run. He only allowed two hits in that outing. Looking back further, he has given up three earned runs in three straight outings. Gibson has made eight quality starts this year and is averaging 7.85 strikeouts per nine innings. For the season, he has allowed 10 homers and is averaging 3.33 walks per nine innings.
So far this season, the Cardinals offense has been just 25th in the league in runs per game, averaging 4 runs per contest. This is also their average when playing on the road, while they have been slightly better at home, putting up 4.3 runs per game. As a team, they are batting .241, which is 14th in the league, and have the 14th best on-base percentage in the league. St. Louis has been led in RBIs by Brendan Donovan, who has 39 RBIs while batting .269.
Donovan and Alec Burleson have been two of the Cardinals’ top hitters this season and are both coming off strong eight-game stretches. During this time, Donovan has gone 15/34 with three homers, while Burleson has also gone deep three times while batting .414. Nolan Gorman has a team-high 16 homers this season, but he is batting just .195.
With the Cardinals being the underdogs at +114, that is the route we recommend going for today’s Braves vs. Cardinals matchup. Our predicted final score is 5.1 to 5 in favor of the Cardinals.
Looking at today’s starters, we have Kyle Gibson finishing with five strikeouts compared to Reynaldo López with six. However, we have Gibson finishing with a better chance to pick up a win than López.
Offensively, we have the Braves finishing with nine hits compared to the Cardinals with nine. The Braves are projected to finish with more home runs, but the Cardinals lineup is still solid and have them finishing with a higher team average.
St. Louis Cardinals vs Atlanta Braves Betting Tips
- We like the Cardinals on the moneyline (+114)
- The Cardinals are also our pick on the run line at +1.5
- Projecting a combined 10 runs, we like the over
St. Louis Cardinals Injury Report
| Player | Status | Injury |
|---|---|---|
| Nolan Arenado | Probable | Forearm |
| Kyle Gibson | Probable | Back |
| Steven Matz | Out | Back |
| Keynan Middleton | Out | Forearm |
| Tommy Edman | Out | Wrist |
| Drew Rom | Out | Biceps |
| Iván Herrera | Out | Back |
| Riley O’Brien | Out | Forearm |
| Lars Nootbaar | Out | Oblique |
Atlanta Braves Injury Report
| Player | Status | Injury |
|---|---|---|
| Tyler Matzek | Out | Elbow |
| Orlando Arcia | Questionable | Illness |
| Brian Anderson | Out | Illness |
| A.J. Minter | Out | Hip |
| Huascar Ynoa | Out | Elbow |
| Ronald Acuña Jr. | Out | Knee |
| Angel Perdomo | Out | Elbow |
| Jimmy Herget | Out | Shoulder |
| Ray Kerr | Out | Elbow |
| Michael Harris II | Out | Hamstring |
| Spencer Strider | Out | Elbow |
| AJ Smith-Shawver | Out | Oblique |
| Hurston Waldrep | Out | Elbow |
