The high-flying St. Louis Cardinals are looking for their seventh straight victory and 11th in 13 games as they take on the Washington Nationals, who have dropped five of their last seven. The Cards topped the Nats 7-6 in the first game of this series and both teams opened at -110 odds in a pick’em in this contest. Getting the ball in this match are Gio Gonzalez and John Gant with the total Sportsbook at 9 runs.
- The total has gone UNDER in 32 of the Nationals’ last 45 games on the road (avg. combined score: 7.31).
- The Nationals are 8-24 SU in their last 32 games on the road against the Cardinals.
- The Cardinals are 6-0 SU in their last six games (avg. winning margin: 4.33).
View the Nationals vs Cardinals matchup page
Cardinals struggling behind Gant
Toeing the rubber for the Cardinals is John Gant (4-4, 3.89 ERA). St. Louis is just 3-7 SU over the righty’s 10 starts this season and he holds a 4.27 ERA in those games. Additionally, the Cards are just 1-4 SU when the Georgia native makes a home start and his ERA is 4.44 at Busch Stadium when he’s the starter. However, the 26-year-old is coming off a strong outing in which he hurled six innings of one-run ball, allowing just two hits against Miami on August 8.
This is Gant’s second career start against the Nationals and he’s hoping for a better outcome than his first crack at their lineup. Gant faced Washington in 2016 when he was a member of the Atlanta Braves and he got torched for five earned runs on six hits in just 1.2 innings. The Cards are 1-2 SU when the righty faces NL East teams this season and he holds a 4.60 ERA over those three outings.
Gonzalez seeks first road win since early June
Gio Gonzalez (7-8, 3.89 ERA) gets the ball for the Nationals, looking to put an end to his six-game road losing streak. Overall this season, Washington is 4-8 SU through Gonzalez’s 12 road starts while he holds a 4.26 ERA over those outings. Additionally, the Nationals haven’t won back-to-back Gonzalez starts since early June and the lefty is coming off a great start vs Atlanta. The Florida native tossed seven innings of one-run ball in that August 9 trip to the mound, albeit in a home start.
This is the first time the Florida native gets the ball against St. Louis this season. The Nationals are 5-5 SU when the lefty faces the Cards, including two postseason starts, and he has a sparkling 2.69 ERA over that span. According to our pitcher run support page, Gonzalez has been a victim of low run support as the Nationals are averaging 3.48 runs over his starts in 2018.
Is another UNDER in store for the Nationals on the road?
The series opener between the Nationals and Cardinals had a combined score of 13 and Sportsbook has tonight’s total Sportsbook at 9 runs. The Nationals have gone OVER 9 runs in just six of Gonzalez’s 23 starts this season, while the Cards have gone OVER 9 runs in just three of Gant’s 10 outings. Additionally, the Nats have gone UNDER in 32 of their last 45 road games with an average combined score of 7.31. Lastly, the total has gone OVER in seven of the last 10 meetings between the Nats and Cards, but half of those games either pushed or went UNDER tonight’s Sportsbook total of 9 runs.
