Oakland Athletics at St. Louis Cardinals Betting Preview
Two of the worst teams in Major League Baseball are getting together to start a three-game series on Monday. The Oakland Athletics are at the St. Louis Cardinals. Oakland comes into the game with the worst record in all of Major League Baseball.
The Athletics have dropped three straight and 7 out of their last 10. Oakland is 33-85 overall this season and 15-44 when on the road. St. Louis is in last place in the National League Central with their 52-66 record. St. Louis had a rare day off on Sunday.
The St Louis Cardinals are the favorites in this game. St. Louis is listed at -205, while Oakland comes into the game at +170. The total for this game is listed at 8.5 runs.
Monday’s Pitching Matchup
St. Louis will send Miles Mikolas to the mound in this game. The 34-year-old has had a rough season in 2023 with a 6-8 record and a 4.20 earned run average. Mikolas needs just one more strikeout this season to get to 100 on the season. In his last start, Mikolas went 7 innings and allowed eight hits and two runs as the Cardinals lost. St. Louis has dropped in his last four starts.
JP Sears is taking the mound for the Oakland Athletics. The 27-year-old is 2-9 on the season with a 4.23 earned run average. Sears has dropped his last two starts and, over that time, allowed 15 hits and six runs over nine innings pitched. Sears will be making his 24th start of the season.
St. Louis is Looking to Close in on .500
At this point in the season, the Cardinals are just looking to see how close they can get to .500 on the season. The Cardinals have been a disaster and are 12.5 games back in the National League Central standings. In the win on Saturday, Tommy Edman went deep twice as they held on to win 5-4.
The offense of Nolan Arenado leads the Cardinals. The star third baseman has clubbed 24 home runs and has driven in 82 runs. Arenado actually leads the team with a .287 batting average as well. The Cardinals are 5th in all of baseball in on-base percentage, with a .331 on the season.
Oakland Closing in on 100
The Oakland Athletics are going to lose 100 games. That’s inevitable. But, will they do it before they reach September? That’s the next question. The Athletics lost all three games to the Nationals over the weekend, allowing 19 total runs in the series. Oakland is 37.5 games back of first place in the American League West.
The Athletics are last in all of baseball with 413 runs and last with a .221 batting average. Oakland also has the worst slugging percentage in baseball, at .360. Brent Rooker has been the best offensive player for Oakland, with 19 home runs and 49 runs batted in on the season.
Cardinals win Easily
The St. Louis Cardinals have had a miserable season. The Cardinals have some great players, but things just have not come together for them all season. Miles Mikolas though, is ready to get a win here and get the Cardinals their second straight win. The Cardinals win this game easily. Take St. Louis -1.5 at even money on Monday in Major League Baseball action.
