St. Louis Cardinals at New York Mets Betting Preview
After having their game rained out on Monday, the St. Louis Cardinals (19-15) will take on the New York Mets (23-13) in a doubleheader on Tuesday. The first game of the doubleheader is scheduled for 3:10 pm ET from Citi Field.
Coming into this series, the Cardinals are 5-5 in their last ten games. They took two out of three from the San Francisco Giants in their last series, including a 15-6 win on Sunday Night Baseball.
In the win, Adam Wainwright pitched six innings, allowing two earned runs while striking out five. In a crazy ending to the game, Albert Pujols came on in relief, giving up four earned runs in the ninth inning.
Offensively, the Cardinals hit three home runs, including two-run blasts from Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, and Yadier Molina.
The Mets didn’t have quite as much luck in their last series as they dropped two of three to the Seattle Mariners. In Sunday’s finale, they lost 8-7 at home.
While he wasn’t pinned with the loss, starter Carlos Carrasco struggled, going 4.1 innings and allowing four earned runs.
Offensively, the Mets had nine hits but left 15 runners on base. Francisco Lindor hit his sixth home run of the season while Brandon Nimmo went two for five out of the leadoff spot.
The Mets are the favorites in this one playing at home. They are -125 to win while the Cardinals’ moneyline sits at +115. The runline features St. Louis +1.5.
Cardinals Try To Keep Pace In NL Central
At 19-15, the Cardinals are just one of two teams in the NL Central with a winning record. Trying to keep pace with the Milwaukee Brewers, who they are three games behind, the Cardinals will try to take down one of the National League’s best teams.
To this point, the Cardinals have been pretty consistent regardless of the venue, as they are 10-8 at home and 9-7 on the road.
St. Louis is expected to send Steven Matz to the mound for the opener Tuesday. To date, he is 3-3 with a 6.40 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, and has struck out 37 in 32.1 innings.
Leading the offense for St. Louis is third baseman Nolan Arenado. To date, he is hitting .312/.374/.600 with a team-leading eight home runs and 29 runs batted in.
On the season, the Cardinals rank ninth in scoring as they are averaging 4.62 runs per game (4.13 on the road).
Mets Look To Get Back To Winning Ways
Prior to the last series against the Mariners, the Mets had won or tied every series they had played in this season. After taking two of three from the Cardinals back at the end of April on the road, they will try to win another series from the redbirds at Citi Field.
Trevor Williams is expected to take the ball in the first game for New York. In five games (one start) this season, he is 0-2 with a 5.73 ERA, 1.64 WHIP, and has nine strikeouts in 11 innings of work.
Offensively, Pete Alonso has been electric to start the season. He is hitting .270/.342/.489 with eight home runs, 29 runs batted in, and 21 runs scored. He leads the Mets in all three of those categories.
After being acquired in the offseason, Starling Marte has also had a nice start to his Mets’ tenure. In 139 at bats, he is hitting .266/.311/.403 with three home runs, 20 runs batted in, 20 runs scored, and five stolen bases.
Cardinals/Mets Betting Prediction
This one is tough to call. Both of these teams have been just mediocre at 5-5 over their last 10, yet overall, both have gotten off to strong starts. Furthermore, neither team is starting someone who has just dominated to this point this season.
Still, in the head-to-head trends, the Cardinals have won 11 of their last 16 matchups and are 7-1 in their last eight games at Citi Field.
With the game being changed to a doubleheader, make sure to check for any last-second changes to the expected starters, but as it stands now, take the Cardinals at +1.5 on the runline.
