Game Information
St. Louis Cardinals (51-47) at Arizona Diamondbacks (48-50)
Time: 6:15pm CT Saturday
How to watch: FOX (KTVI-TV)
Probable pitchers: Sonny Gray (9-3, 3.50 ERA) vs Ryne Nelson (5-2, 3.68 ERA)
DraftKings Odds
Moneyline: Cardinals -119, Diamondbacks -102
Total: 8.5 (over -110, under -110)
Cards, Dbacks Meet In Game Two
The St. Louis Cardinals hope to avoid a series loss when they meet the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second of a three-game set on Saturday night.
The Redbirds fell in the series opener 7-3 on Friday, as they dropped to 2.5 games behind the Padres for the final NL Wild Card spot.
Cardinals Need Gray Again
Sonny Gray will be on the mound looking to do what he has done plenty of times this season - help the Cardinals bounce back from defeat. The Cards are 15-4 in Gray starts this season, including 9-4 when he pitches the game after a loss.
Gray will need to be careful with Josh Naylor in this one. The Arizona first baseman is hitting .318 with 2 home runs and a .984 OPS in 22 career at-bats against Gray.
Nelson On A Roll
The Diamondbacks give the ball to Ryne Nelson, who has been on a roll lately. The right-hander is 3-0 with a 2.43 ERA over his last six starts, with Arizona winning five of those games.
Nelson has been particularly effective at home, as he holds a 4-1 record with a 2.17 ERA and 0.88 WHIP in 11 appearances at Chase Field this season.
My Lean
Nelson is having a good season, but I’m not sold on him with just 65 strikeouts in 78.1 innings this year. We may be seeing signs of him turning back into an ordinary pitcher, as he really struggled his last time out going 4 innings with 7 hits, 4 runs, 4 walks, and just 1 strikeout.
Gray has been fantastic for the Cardinals this season, and as noted above, he has done a great job helping this team bounce back from losses.
It’s an unfavorable pitching matchup on Sunday with Miles Mikolas against Merrill Kelly, so the Cards will be desperate to get a win on Saturday. Here’s thinking they get it done with their ace on the mound.
Lean: Cardinals on the moneyline at -119 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