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St. Louis Cardinals at Toronto Blue Jays Betting Preview

A brief, two-game interleague series is set to start on Tuesday across the border as the St. Louis Cardinals (51-46) take on the Toronto Blue Jays (53-43). The Blue Jays will host this one at the Rogers Centre, with the first pitch scheduled for 7:07 pm ET.

Coming into this game, the Cardinals have won six of their last ten, including taking two of three against the Reds in their last series. At 51-46, they sit second in the NL Central, two games behind the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Blue Jays come into this one on a six-game winning streak. In their last series, they outscored the Boston Red Sox 40-10 in three games, including a 28-5 rout last Friday. Also sitting second in their division, they are 12.5 games behind the Yankees but sit in one of the three Wild Card spots currently.

The Blue Jays are the favorites in this one playing at home. They are -230 to win while the Cardinals’ moneyline sits at +190. The runline features St. Louis +1.5 (-108), and the over/under for total runs is 8.5.

Cardinals Playing Shorthanded

Due to travel rules which prohibit unvaccinated players from crossing the border in either direction, the St. Louis Cardinals will be playing shorthanded in this one. Most notably, the redbirds will be without Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado.

For Goldschmidt, he is the current favorite to win the NL MVP (-155) and has hit .335/.417/.619 with 24 home runs, 77 runs batted in, and 68 runs scored this season. He leads the team in all three categories.

For Arenadao, he is hitting .296/.359/.528 with 18 home runs, 59 runs batted in, and 42 runs scored. Without their corner infielders and the heart of their lineup, St. Louis will need others to step up.

On the mound for the Cardinals will be 23-year-old righty Andre Pallante. In 26 games (eight starts), he is 3-4 with a 3.34 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, and has 47 strikeouts in 70 innings.

In his last three outings, Pallante has given up 13 runs in 14.1 innings of work. In that span, he has given up 25 hits and struck out 14.

Against the Blue Jays’ Jose Berrios, keep an eye out for Corey Dickerson. In 11 at bats, he is hitting .455 with a home run. Tommy Edman has also homered off the righty.

Blue Jays Look To Keep Rolling

Even though they have a lot of work to do to catch up in the AL East, the Blue Jays currently hold the top Wild Card spot, sitting a game ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays. Still, with seven teams within five games of one another, the Blue Jays will look to keep rolling and try to create some separation.

Taking the mound for Toronto in the opener will be 28-year-old Jose Berrios. In 19 games this season, Berrios is 7-4, but he sports a 5.22 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, and has struck out 93 in 101.2 innings.

Berrios has been better as of late. In his last three starts combined, he has given up just six runs in 18.1 innings. In that span, he has allowed 17 hits and struck out 26.

Offensively, Vladimir Guerrero Jr continues to be their best hitter. In 364 at bats, he is hitting .280/.354/.492 with a team-leading 20 home runs, 60 runs batted in, and 54 runs scored.

In the last two weeks, Teoscar Hernandez has been red hot, hitting .378/.410/.811 with four home runs, 13 runs batted in, and nine runs in his last 37 at bats.

Take Toronto To Win And Cover

This will be a big uphill battle for the Cardinals. Not only are they missing their best two sluggers in Goldschmidt and Arenado for the series, but Andre Pallante isn’t exactly the type of shutdown pitcher you would like to turn to in this situation.

Furthermore, Toronto has played well at home. While they are 23-24 on the road, they are 30-19 at home this season.

All things considered, feel confident in taking Toronto to win this game, and don’t hesitate to take them to cover the -1.5 runline (-111) either.

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