NLCS Game 1 Betting Preview: Washington Nationals at St. Louis Cardinals
The National League Championship Series is set to kick off on Friday night, and we have a very interesting matchup set to take place. The St. Louis Cardinals will have home-field advantage over the Washington Nationals in the series after both teams pulled off first-round upsets. Each team won their first-round series in a decisive Game 5, but they also had to use their top pitchers in those games.
The St. Louis Cardinals won the NL Central Division this season, and they carried that momentum into the NLDS. St. Louis knocked off the Atlanta Braves in Game 5, scoring 10 first-inning runs to cruise to victory.
Washington won the Wild Card Game over the Milwaukee Brewers and then stunned the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first round. The Nationals are a gritty team that just continues to find a way to win. St. Louis is -115 over the Washington Nationals in Game 1 of this series.
Rendon, Soto Powering Nationals
The Washington Nationals have a very underrated offensive lineup, and they have a pair of superstars in the middle of it. Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto hit back-to-back home runs in Game 5 to get the Washington Nationals to this point, and they will be a huge key in this series. Washington scored 13 combined runs in their last two wins of that series, and they have plenty of thunder up and down that lineup.
The Nationals had to use their top three pitchers to survive the NLDS, so Anibal Sanchez is expected to start the series opener. Sanchez was sharp in his only other appearance in these playoffs, striking out nine batters in just five innings. The Nationals have to piece together their bullpen each game, and they will need Sanchez to eat up some innings in this game.
Cardinals Need More From Mikolas
Miles Mikolas is being paid like the ace of the Cardinals pitching staff, and now he needs to pitch like it. Mikolas will make the start in Game 1, and St. Louis doesn’t really know what to expect from the veteran. The right-hander went just 9-14 with a 4.16 earned run average during the regular season but has pitched well so far this postseason. St. Louis has some weapons in its bullpen, but they do have some issues getting outs in the ninth inning.
St. Louis has some thunder in its lineup as well, and Paul Goldschmidt has been leading the way. The All-Star first baseman is tied for the team lead with Marcell Ozuna with nine hits so far this postseason, with both players hitting a pair of home runs. The Cardinals have a lineup that is full of speed, and they make life extremely difficult on opposing pitchers. Washington has a great pitching staff, but the Cardinals have been scoring runs all season long.
Cardinals Win Series Opener
These two teams were supposed to be knocked out in the first round, but they both flipped that script. This won’t be the best pitching matchup of the series, and this game could be won by the offense. Look for the Cardinals to get enough runs to back Mikolas in taking the series opener over the Washington Nationals. Take the St Louis Cardinals -115 over the Washington Nationals.
