St. Louis Cardinals at San Diego Padres Betting Preview
Playoff contenders will square off Tuesday in the first of a three-game series as the St. Louis Cardinals (87-61) take on the San Diego Padres (81-66). The Padres will host this one at Petco Park, with the first pitch scheduled for 9:40 pm ET.
In their last series, the Cardinals won three of four from the Cincinnati Reds; however, they did lose the finale Sunday 3-0. In the loss, Jordan Montgomery gave up three runs on seven hits in 5.1 innings of work.
The Padres also won three of four in their last series against the Diamondbacks, winning the last three in a row. In Sunday’s finale, they beat Arizona 6-1 behind six scoreless innings from Yu Darvish.
The Padres are the favorites playing at home Tuesday. They are -110 to win, while the Cardinals’ moneyline sits at +100. The runline features St. Louis +1.5 (-205), and the over/under for total runs is 7.5.
Pujols Watch Continues On West Coast
At 87-61, the Cardinals are running away with the NL Central, leading the division by 8.5 games over the Milwaukee Brewers. With the division all but put away at this point, all eyes are on Albert Pujols and his quest for 700.
Currently sitting at 698, Pujols is flirting with history with just 14 games left on the schedule. In his final season, he is hitting .256/.332/.513 with 19 home runs, 53 runs batted in, and 32 runs scored.
The Cardinals’ best hitter has been NL MVP favorite (-3000) Paul Goldschmidt. He is hitting .322/.411/.599 with 35 home runs, 112 runs batted in, and 103 runs scored.
On the mound Tuesday will be veteran righty Adam Wainwright. In 29 games, he is 11-9 with a 3.29 ERA and 1.24 WHIP, and he has struck out 137 in 178 innings.
Wainwright picked up the win in his last start against the Brewers, going five innings and allowing just one earned run.
Padres Fighting For Wild Card Spot
With the NL West already clinched by the L.A. Dodgers, the Padres’ lone shot of making the postseason is via the Wild Card. Currently, they sit in the second Wild Card spot, and they are hoping to maintain that spot as they ride a three-game winning streak.
Manager Bob Melvin will hand the ball to righty Mike Clevinger in the opener. He is 5-7 in 20 games with a 4.47 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, and has struck out 83 in 98.2 innings.
He has struggled a bit as of late as he has gone 0-2 in his last three starts. In a combined 13.1 innings over that span, he has allowed 15 earned runs on 16 hits.
At the plate, keep an eye on the first baseman Josh Bell. In 25 at bats versus Wainwright in his career, he is hitting .320 with two home runs and six runs batted in.
Brandon Drury, Ha-Seong Kim, Manny Machado, Wil Myers, Austin Nola, and Jurickson Profar have also taken the righty deep in their careers.
Take St. Louis On The Road
Being the underdogs, there is a lot of value in St. Louis in this game. Not only have they won 10 of their last 14 road games, but they are undefeated in their last six games against the Padres.
Also, with the Padres’ Mike Clevinger struggling a bit as of late, this is a Cardinals’ offense that can make him pay as they rank fourth in scoring (4.82 runs per game).
Take St. Louis to win on the road Tuesday straight up at +100.
