Game Information
St. Louis Cardinals (45-38) at Cleveland Guardians (40-40)
Time: 3:10pm CT Saturday
How to watch: FanDuel Sports Network
Probable pitchers: Miles Mikolas (4-5, 4.31 ERA) vs Slade Cecconi (3-3, 3.38 ERA)
DraftKings Odds
Moneyline: Guardians -125, Cardinals +103
Total: 8.5 (over -101, under -120)
Cards, Guardians Play Game Two
The St. Louis Cardinals look to extend their road winning streak to five games when they take on the Cleveland Guardians in the second of a three-game series this afternoon.
Remember the road struggles the Cards had earlier in the season? Well, that’s now a thing of the past. After starting the season 2-12 away from home, the Redbirds are now 17-9 over their last 26 road games.
Cardinals Crushing Righties
The Cardinals got back on track offensively last night in large part because they faced a right-handed starter. The Cards are now 31-23 against right-handed starters this season, but just 14-15 against southpaws. They have won 8 of their last 11 games overall, and all of those defeats came against lefties. The Redbirds haven’t lost a game started by a right-hander since June 15th in Milwaukee.
Miles Mikolas will be on the bump today for the Cardinals, and he appears to be back in a groove after hitting a bit of a lull. In his last two starts, Mikolas has pitched 11 innings and allowed only 4 earned runs while striking out 13.
Guardians’ Woes Continue
The Guardians were shut out for a second straight game last night, as their June swoon continues. Cleveland is 9-14 and averaging just 2.87 runs per game this month.
A bright spot this month for the Guardians has been today’s starter Slade Cecconi. In four June starts, the right-hander has a 2.05 ERA in 22 innings.
My Lean
It looks like the “good” Mikolas is back, and it’s encouraging to see a bunch of strikeouts in his last two outings. I think Mikolas can limit the ice cold Guardians to 2 earned runs or fewer today, which is something he has done in 60% of his starts this season (9 out of 15).
I am leaning on the side of conservatism on this play and making it a lean and not a bet because the Guardians are getting their stud third baseman José Ramírez back in the lineup today. Ramírez missed last night’s game after being hit by a pitch on Thursday, and he’s hitting .317 with an .892 OPS this season.
So this play falls just short of making my Saturday card, but if you’re looking for some action this afternoon, Mikolas under 2.5 earned runs would be the way I would go.
Lean: Miles Mikolas under 2.5 earned runs at -115 on DraftKings
Eric Sontag hosts Domesticated Gamblers every Friday on the STL Sports Central 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