The San Diego Padres are playing host to the St. Louis Cardinals at PETCO Park. The opening pitch is scheduled for 8:40 p.m. ET and Fox Sports San Diego will showcase this NL matchup.
St. Louis Cardinals vs. San Diego Padres Odds
St. Louis (-120) is favored against San Diego (+110) and oddsmakers have set the Over/Under for this afternoons game at 7.5 runs. The odds for betting on the games total stand at -120 for the over and +100 for the under. The games runline odds stand at +125 for betting the Cardinals -1.5 runs and -145 for the Padres +1.5.
The Cardinals are 22-14 SU and have gone 17-18 against the spread (ATS). They’ve accumulated 3.0 units for bettors taking the moneyline in the seasons early going, despite having lost 1.9 units ATS. St. Louis is 3-4 ATS over its last seven games and the total has gone under in five of those seven. The Padres, on the other hand, are 14-26 SU and 17-22 ATS. The teams lost 6.2 units for moneyline bettors and 11.1 units ATS. San Diego has covered the spread four times in its last seven games and the total has gone under in five of those seven.
Padres games have an over/under record of 17-20-2 so far in 2018. Cardinals games have gone under 18 times, gone over 14 times and pushed on three occasions.
Right-hander Michael Wacha will get the nod for St. Louis. Wacha is 4-1 with a 3.35 ERA and 31 strikeouts. He has yet to face the Padres this year and only made one start against them in 2017 (1-0, 4.50 ERA and six strikeouts across six innings).
The Padres are handing the ball to righty Tyson Ross (2-3, 3.67 ERA), who has 46 strikeouts and 16 walks to his name, as well as a 1.20 WHIP. Ross did not record a start against the Cardinals in 2017.
San Diego’s pitchers have allowed 5.0 runs per game overall in 2018 as a unit. Its starters have an ERA of 5.26, a WHIP of 1.61 and a strikeouts-per-nine of 8.6. The bullpen has a 3.28 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 9.7 K/9.
San Diego’s offense has produced 3.7 runs per contest, including 3.0 per game over its last 10 games and 2.6 per game over its last five. The teams hit .222/.289/.335 over its last five matchups and is 1-4 SU during that span.
First baseman Eric Hosmer and third baseman Christian Villanueva have led the Padres batters this year. Hosmer is hitting .265/.367/.471 with five home runs, 12 RBIs and 18 runs scored, while Villanueva is batting .232 with nine homers, 20 RBIs and 17 runs.
Hosmer enjoyed batting against righties at home last year, slashing .354/.439/.615 over 221 such plate appearances (compared to his overall season line of .318/.385/.498).
For the visitors, St. Louis pitchers have allowed 3.8 runs per game and its starting pitchers own a 3.15 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 7.75 K/9. The bullpen has logged an ERA of 3.71, along with a K-per-9 of 8.11.
Cardinals hitters have slashed .232/.321/.393 on their way to 4.4 runs scored per game in 2018, including 3.3 runs per game over the teams last 10 games and 3.2 per game over the teams last five contests (3-2 SU).
St. Louis offensive production been led by Tommy Pham and Jedd Gyorko. Pham is slashing .343/.450/.593 with seven home runs, 17 RBIs, 27 runs and seven stolen bases, while Gyorko (.366/.481/.707) is up to four homers, seven RBIs and 10 runs scored.
Pham performed well against righty pitching on the road in 2017. Over 226 such plate appearances, he maintained a slash line of .352/.438/.633 (compared to his overall season line of .306/.411/.520).
The Cardinals have lost 0.6 units and are 10-15 ATS when facing a right-handed starting pitcher this year. The over has cashed in 10 of those games, compared to 12 that’ve hit the under in such games. On the other hand, the Padres have lost 7.0 units and are 11-14 ATS when facing a righty starter. The over has hit in 10 of those games, compared to 13 that went under the total.
St. Louis Cardinals vs. San Diego Padres MLB Pick
Predictions: SU Winner – Padres, ATS Winner – Padres, O/U – OVER
Betting Notes
- The Cardinals have hit 15 home runs in their last 10 games, including nine over their last five.
- San Diego has posted 16.6 Runs + Hits + Errors per game over its last 10 outings and 16.6 over its last five.
- The Padres have lost four of their last five games SU.
