Oddsmakers seem to think that Atlanta will turn it around tonight after three high-scoring losses in a row. The Braves open as -135 favorites and some books have them at -140 tonight against the Cards. St. Louis opened at +125 but some books have them as high as +135. The total opened at 8.5 with early action on the OVER.
- The Cardinals are 7-0 SU in their last seven games on the road vs the Braves (avg. winning margin: 5.29).
- The total has gone OVER in seven of the last eight games in this matchup with an average combined score of 11.5.
- Atlanta’s staff has issued 8.66 free passes per game in their last three outings.
Cardinals vs Braves Game Center
Braves’ ERA is 8.00 over past three games
Atlanta had won six games in a row until Saturday when it all came to a crashing halt. The Braves have since lost three straight games, allowing an average of eight runs, two home runs and 9.3 hits per game. Most concerning is the 26 walks issued since Saturday.
They’ll turn to Anibal Sanchez in the second game of this series and expectations may be a little low. Atlanta is 1-5 SU in the last six games Sanchez has started at home. In fact, he has not been the winning pitcher at home since June 14 vs San Diego, his only win at home this season.
St. Louis will counter with rookie Austin Gomber, who joined the rotation on a full-time basis on August 4. In eight starts since that date, Gomer has a 4.07 ERA and .286 opponents’ batting average in 42 innings. He’s allowed just one home run. The Florida Atlantic alum has been better as a starter on the road than at home with opponents hitting just .238 against him in his road starts.
Braves Match Up Well With Gomber
A date with a left-handed starter may be exactly what the Braves need to snap this three-game slide that they’re on. Atlanta has been near or at the top with their numbers against left-handers all season while slashing .272/.338/.449 for the season. Since the beginning of August at SunTrust Park, the Braves are slashing .303/.376/.434 vs southpaws.
Cardinals Battling for a Wild-Card Spot
St. Louis is 5.5 games out of first in the NL Central with Milwaukee sitting between them and the Cubs, so a division crown is unlikely. The good news is they are sitting in the second wild-card spot entering play today, albeit just a half-game up on the Colorado Rockies. The good news for both of those teams is that the Arizona Diamondbacks and Philadelphia Phillies are falling off the pace.
With Philadelphia now 6.5 games back in the East, one wonders if Atlanta has taken the foot off the gas a little since the weekend? Is a slight lack of focus affecting the pitching staff? The Cardinals certainly hope so as they go for their third consecutive victory tonight.
The Red Birds have cranked out 18 hits and five home runs in their past two games after the offense had seemingly taken a two-week vacation to begin September. Matt Carpenter is still in his slump, but Marcell Ozuna and Yadier Molina are doing all they can to spur the offense.
My Pick for This Game
There’s a whole lot of moving parts here in order to pick one side or the other in terms of a Sportsbook but I’m OK with betting OVER 8.5 runs for the total. There were 17 runs scored between the two teams last night and the total has gone OVER in seven of the last eight games in this matchup with an average combined score of 11.5.
