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St. Louis Cardinals at Philadelphia Phillies Betting Preview

In Major League Baseball on Friday, the St. Louis Cardinals will visit the Philadelphia Phillies for the first of three games. In what many felt could be a potential playoff preview, it has turned into a series with the two teams heading in opposite directions.

The Cardinals are 56-72, 14.5 games out of first place in the National League Central. St. Louis is 28-35 on the road this season. They are coming off a win on Wednesday over the Pirates. For the Phillies, they are in second place in the National League East. The Phillies have the top wildcard spot as of today and would host the Chicago Cubs in the first round best of 3 series.

The Philadelphia Phillies come into this game as the favorite. Philadelphia is -142 over the Cardinals. St. Louis is listed at +120, and the total for the game is at 9.5 runs.

Cardinals Ready for 2023 Season to End

It has been a season to forget for the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals were projected to win the National League Central and now find themselves in last place in the division as the final month arrives. The Cardinals’ biggest issue has come from the pitching side.

St. Louis has one of the worst earned run averages in baseball, and their 39 quality starts is near the bottom of the league. On the offensive side, Nolan Arenado continues to rake, as he leads the team with a .283 batting average, 26 home runs, and 87 runs batted in.

Miles Mikolas will get the start for the St. Louis Cardinals in this game. Mikolas just turned 35 years old and is, by default, the ace of this staff. Mikolas has shown less than ace stuff in 2023, with his 6-9 mark and 4.55 earned run average.

The right-hander from Jupiter, Florida, is coming off a horrible start at home against the Mets, where he allowed seven runs over 4.2 innings pitched. This will be his 28th start of 2023.

Phillies Hoping to Surge Through September

The Philadelphia Phillies had a chance to sweep the San Francisco Giants at home but lost the game in extra innings on Wednesday. Philadelphia is 4-5 in their last nine games. The Phillies offense is just outside the Top 10 regarding runs scored.

The team has a .258 batting average, which is 7th in all of Major League Baseball. Bryce Harper is putting together an interesting season. The slugger is hitting .299, while Kyle Schwarber leads the team in home runs and runs batted in with 34 and 81.

For Philadelphia, Cristopher Sanchez will toe the rubber. The 26-year-old lefthander is just 1-3 on the season, with a 3.36 earned run average. Sanchez is making his 13th start of the season.

On the year, he has thrown 64.1 innings and struck out 58 batters, walking 12. His most recent start was on August 19th at the Nationals. In that game, he went six innings, allowing seven hits and two earned runs.

Phillies and Cardinals go Over Run Total

The Cardinals and Phillies can both hit the baseball. They both have guys that can hit the ball out of the ballpark.

Instead of giving you a pick on who will win the game, we have a better pick—taking the OVER in this game. Several home runs hit, both starters hit hard, and runs like crazy in this game.

The total is set at 9.5 runs, and that’s not enough. Both teams get to 5+ runs in this game. Bet the OVER 9.5 for the Cardinals and Phillies in the first game of the series on Friday!

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