Game Information
St. Louis Cardinals (29-23) vs Arizona Diamondbacks (26-26)
Time: 1:15pm CT Sunday
How to watch: FanDuel Sports Network
Probable pitchers: Sonny Gray (5-1, 4.02 ERA) vs Brandon Pfaadt (7-3, 3.81 ERA)
DraftKings Odds
Moneyline: Cardinals -125, Diamondbacks +105
Total: 7.5 (over -115, under -105)
Cards Hope To Bring Out Brooms
The St. Louis Cardinals look to complete a sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks when the teams meet in the finale of their three-game series on Sunday afternoon at Busch Stadium.
The Redbirds are now 18-8 at home this season and have won 15 of their last 19 games overall.
Sonny In St. Louis
Sonny Gray makes the start for the Cards. The right-hander is coming off arguably his best outing of the season on Monday against the Tigers when he pitched 6 shutout innings with just 3 hits allowed, 1 walk, and 10 strikeouts.
Gray has a 13-inning scoreless streak at home, which continues a trend of his dominance in St. Louis. He has a 2.96 ERA in 29 career starts at Busch Stadium.
Pfaadt Looks To Continue Winning Ways
The Diamondbacks turn to Brandon Pfaadt in their hopes to avoid the sweep. The right-hander is tied for the Major League lead with 7 wins despite a rather mediocre 3.81 ERA.
Pfaadt is definitely due for regression with an expected ERA (xERA) of 6.30 ERA. He has also struggled on the road this season with a 6.19 ERA as opposed to a 1.78 ERA at home.
My Pick
I like the Cardinals’ chances to bring out the brooms. Gray’s home dominance has been consistent, and Pfaadt is overdue to get blown up. If you’re going to bet the Cards in this one, I would prefer the first five innings over the full game with Ryan Helsley and Kyle Leahy almost certainly unavailable.
But I have a play I like better… the NRFI (No Runs First Inning).
Gray has not allowed a first inning run in 7 of his 10 starts this season. And since becoming a Cardinal, he has shut out his opponent in the opening frame in 21 of his 23 starts at Busch Stadium (91.3% hit rate)
Pfaadt has not given up a run in the first inning in 9 of his 10 starts this season. And over the last two seasons, he has put up a zero in the opening frame in 34 of his 42 starts (80.9% hit rate).
The NRFI is juiced at -140, so I’m going to use the same winning strategy as Saturday and combine it with both teams to score at least one run in the game to bring the price down to -105.
Pick: Same Game Parlay priced at -105 on DraftKings - Under 0.5 runs in the first inning AND Both teams to score 1+ runs in the game (bet to -115)
Eric Sontag hosts Domesticated Gamblers every Friday on the Sports Hub STL YouTube channel. Follow him on X @GamblingDads, and click here for his daily picks on all of our St. Louis area sports teams. Picks = betting the game - minus odds betting to win 1 unit, plus odds risking 1 unit. Leans = no strong opinion, not betting the game. Disclaimer