Game Information
St. Louis Cardinals (49-43) vs Washington Nationals (37-54)
Time: 6:45pm CT Wednesday
How to watch: FanDuel Sports Network
Probable pitchers: Andre Pallante (5-4, 4.10 ERA) vs MacKenzie Gore (3-8, 3.11 ERA)
DraftKings Odds
Moneyline: Cardinals -143, Nationals +118
Total: 7.5 (over -119, under -102)
Cards Go For Series Win
The St. Louis Cardinals go for the series win tonight when they meet the Washington Nationals in the second of a three-game set at Busch Stadium.
The Redbirds picked up a much-needed 4-2 victory last night to move within 5.5 games of the division-leading Cubs and 1.5 games of the Giants for the final NL Wild Card spot.
Pallante In A Groove
Andre Pallante has gotten his season back on track as he gets ready to take the hill tonight. Over his last five starts, the right-hander has given up just 7 earned runs covering 28.1 innings for a 2.22 ERA. One of Pallante’s best starts of the season came in a win at Washington on May 10th when he struck out 7 and allowed just 2 runs and 5 hits in 7.1 innings.
Willson Contreras will be a key man at the plate tonight for the Cards. He has gotten on base twice in each of the last three games, and in his career against tonight’s Washington starter MacKenzie Gore, Contreras is 8-for-13 (.615 batting average) with a home run that came back on May 11th.
Nats Turn To Their All-Star
Gore is headed to the All Star Game after posting a 3.11 ERA and 131 K’s (5th in MLB) so far in 2025. The left-hander has permitted 2 earned runs or less in eight of his last nine starts, and he looks to take advantage of a team that has struggled against southpaws. The Cardinals are 16-17 against left-handed starters, and their .662 OPS against lefties ranks 19th in baseball.
The Redbirds may be wise to show patience tonight to try to get to the bullpen as soon as they can. The Nationals’ bullpen ERA ranks dead last in MLB at 5.76.
My Lean
I had pegged this game a couple days ago as a good first five under candidate, as Gore is great and Pallante is in a groove. Unfortunately, DraftKings agrees with under 4.5 in the first five innings priced at -166, which is too much juice for me to make this a play.
It’s important to be price-sensitive when gambling on sports, so I’ll be sitting this one out. If you’re adamant you want action on this game, I’d recommend taking the first five under and combining it with both teams to score in the game to give yourself a better price.
Lean: Same Game Parlay priced at -115 on DraftKings - Under 4.5 in the first five innings AND Both teams to score 1+ runs in the game
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