The St. Louis Cardinals will do battle against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Busch Stadium. Fox Sports Arizona will showcase this NL matchup and the opening pitch will be at 1:15 p.m. ET.
Arizona Diamondbacks vs. St. Louis Cardinals Odds
Arizona (-155) is entering this game as the favorite against St. Louis (+135) and Vegas has put the Over/Under for this afternoon game at 7.5 runs (+100 for the under and -120 for the over). Gamblers can also bet on the games runline with the most recent odds standing at +140 for the Diamondbacks +1.5 runs and -150 for the Cardinals -1.5.
The Cardinals are 4-4 SU and 4-3 ATS. The team has lost 1.1 units for bettors taking the moneyline and 0.3 units against the spread (ATS). The Diamondbacks have gone 6-2 SU this year and are 5-2 ATS. Overall, the teams gained 5.3 units for gamblers taking the moneyline in the seasons early going and 3.0 units ATS.
St. Louis games have an over/under record of 3-4 so far in 2018. The Diamondbacks have an over/under record of 3-4.
The Diamondbacks have gained 0.6 units and are 2-1 ATS when facing a righty starter this season. The over has hit in one of those games, compared to two that’ve gone under in such games. On the other hand, the Cardinals have lost 1.0 units and are 3-2 ATS when facing a righty starter. The over has hit in three of those games, compared to two that went under.
The right-handed Taijuan Walker (0-0, 5.40 ERA) will get the start for Arizona. Walker recorded 146 strikeouts over 157 innings last year (with 61 walks) while finishing the season 9-9 overall with a 3.49 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. He made two starts against the Cardinals in 2017 and compiled a 0-1 record against them with a 4.50 ERA and 10 strikeouts.
The Cardinals have tabbed righty Luke Weaver (1-0, 1.80 ERA) as their starter. Weaver struck out 72 hitters over 60 innings last year (with only 17 walks), while finishing the season 7-2 overall with a 3.88 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP.
As a unit, St. Louis pitchers have yielded 3.9 runs per game overall in 2018. Its starters have an ERA of 4.10, a WHIP of 1.49 and a strikeouts-per-nine of 9.1. The bullpen has a 3.21 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 10.3 K/9.
The St. Louis offense is putting up 4.4 runs per outing, including 4.8 per game over its last five. The team has a slash-line of .259/.311/.418 over its last five games and is 3-2 SU during that span.
The Cardinals batters have been led by shortstop Paul DeJong and first baseman Jose Martinez. DeJong is slashing .333/.375/.633 with 10 hits, five RBIs and five runs scored, and Martinez is batting .357 with 10 hits, eight RBIs and three runs scored.
DeJong performed well against righties at home last season, slashing .383/.416/.695 in 149 such plate appearances (compared to his total season line of .285/.325/.532).
For the visiting squad, Arizona’s pitching staff allowed 3.3 runs per game and its starters own a 3.66 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 11.19 K/9. The bullpen has logged an excellent ERA of just 1.78, along with a WHIP of 1.20 and a K/9 of 8.31.
The Diamondbacks offense has slashed .247/.353/.400 on its way to 5.1 runs scored per game this season, including over the teams last five outings (4-1 SU).
A.J. Pollock and Chris Owings have led Arizona’s hitters. Pollock is hitting .323/.417/.581 with 10 hits, five RBIs and five runs scored, while Owings (.400/.464/.600) is up to 10 hits, six RBIs and seven runs scored.
Owings didn’t perform especially well in road games last season, maintaining a slash line of .218/.247/.345 across 182 plate appearances (his total season line was .268/.300/.444).
Arizona Diamondbacks vs. St. Louis Cardinals Free MLB Pick
Predictions: SU Winner – Cardinals, ATS Winner – Diamondbacks, O/U – OVER
Betting Trends
- The Cardinals went 4-3 SU against the Diamondbacks last season.
- The Cardinals bullpen recorded an ERA of 3.91 against the Diamondbacks last year.
