Game Information
St. Louis Cardinals (48-43) vs Washington Nationals (37-53)
Time: 6:45pm CT Tuesday
How to watch: FanDuel Sports Network
Probable pitchers: Sonny Gray (8-3, 3.51 ERA) vs Jake Irvin (7-3, 4.71 ERA)
DraftKings Odds
Moneyline: Cardinals -199, Nationals +161
Total: 8.5 (over -113, under -107)
Cards Return Home To Face Nats
The St. Louis Cardinals open their final week before the All Star break by hosting the Washington Nationals in the first of three on Tuesday night.
The Redbirds are coming off an ugly week where they dropped five of six games against the Pirates and Cubs. The combined score in those six games was 41-11.
Gray Moves Up To Make Start
The recent struggles of the Cards’ pitching staff has increased their team ERA to 4.08, which ranked 19th in MLB as of Monday night. Their starting pitching ERA now ranks 21st in baseball at 4.23.
Sonny Gray hasn’t been the problem, as he leads the starting staff with 8 wins and a 3.51 ERA. The Cardinals have moved Gray up in the rotation to start the series opener so he can pitch two times before the All Star break. The right-hander looks to continue his home dominance, as he’s 5-1 with a 2.76 ERA at Busch Stadium this season.
New Manager Bounce For Nats?
Tuesday’s game will be the first for Washington since the firings of manager Dave Martinez and general manager Mike Rizzo. Former Cardinal Miguel Cairo takes over as the interim manager after most recently serving as bench coach.
The Nationals have really struggled with their pitching this season with a 5.16 team ERA that ranked 28th in MLB as of Monday night. The Nats have played well behind Tuesday’s starter Jake Irvin however, as they have a 10-8 record with Irvin on the mound.
My Pick
I am a total believer in the “new manager bounce” phenomenon in sports where teams raise their level of play in the first game after the firing of their manager/head coach. In fact, there have been a couple of recent examples with our local teams.
We saw the “new manager bounce” with the Blues in their first game under Jim Montgomery when they blasted the Rangers 5-2 this past November, and we saw it again when St. Louis CITY SC picked up a 2-1 win over San Jose in their first game under David Critchley on May 31st.
I know Sonny Gray is pitching on Tuesday, but this is an auto-bet for me. The Nationals are bad, but they have some exciting offensive pieces led by James Wood. The All Star outfielder has posted 23 home runs, 67 RBI, and a .940 OPS so far in 2025.
I think the Nationals pick up the victory on Tuesday, as the “new manager bounce” comes at the Cardinals’ expense.
Pick: Nationals on the moneyline at +161 on DraftKings (bet to +150)
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