Game Information
St. Louis Cardinals (31-24) at Baltimore Orioles (19-35)
Time: 5:35pm CT Wednesday
How to watch: FanDuel Sports Network
Probable pitchers: Miles Mikolas (4-2, 3.51 ERA) vs Cade Povich (1-3, 4.86 ERA)
DraftKings Odds
Moneyline: Orioles -122, Cardinals +102
Total: 8 (over -118, under -102)
Cardinals, Orioles Decide Series
The St. Louis Cardinals go for another series win when they meet the Baltimore Orioles tonight in the finale of their three-game set.
The Redbirds have gone 7-1-1 in their last nine series to pull within 3 games of the Cubs for first place in the NL Central and into a tie with the Giants for the final NL Wild Card spot.
Mikolas Continues To Deal
One of the most pleasant surprises of the season for the Cards has been the resurgence of tonight’s starter Miles Mikolas. The veteran right-hander has been outstanding over his last three starts in particular with just 2 earned runs allowed covering 17.1 innings. And in his eight starts since his blowup in Boston on April 6th, Mikolas has a sparkling ERA of 2.08.
The Cardinals got their bats going again in last night’s 7-4 win in Baltimore, highlighted by Jordan Walker continuing his good run of form. Walker is 6-for-15 (.400) over his last four games with three multi-hit games, 4 runs scored, and 4 RBI.
Orioles’ Pitching Continues To Struggle
The Orioles blew a late lead last night as their bullpen woes continued. The Baltimore relief corps permitted 4 runs in 3.2 innings that saw their bullpen ERA rise to 5.45 on the season (27th in MLB).
Cade Povich will be on the mound for the Orioles tonight. The southpaw has been crushed by right-handed batters this season to the tune of a .295 batting average and an .844 OPS. Povich has struggled in particular in his five home starts with a 6.75 ERA and 7 home runs allowed.
My Pick
I was skeptical of Mikolas early in the season, but I’ve recently changed my tune where I told myself I’m going to trust him until further notice. Thankfully Mikolas has rewarded me with three consecutive winning bets in his starts.
I see no reason to steer away from backing the Cardinals here. Mikolas has given up 0 or 1 runs in five of his last six starts, and Povich seems like an ideal pitcher for the Redbirds to knock around. The lefty permits a lot of baserunners (1.45 WHIP) and has a .272 batting average against. The Cards rank 6th in MLB with a .331 on-base percentage, so I expect them to be all over the basepaths tonight.
I think this line should be flipped with the Cardinals as a slight favorite. Look for the Redbirds to notch yet another series win and move to a season-high 8 games over .500.
Pick: Cardinals on the moneyline at +102 on DraftKings (bet to -110)
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