Game Information
St. Louis Cardinals (51-48) at Arizona Diamondbacks (49-50)
Time: 3:10pm CT Sunday
How to watch: FanDuel Sports Network
Probable pitchers: Miles Mikolas (5-6, 4.94 ERA) vs Merrill Kelly (8-5, 3.34 ERA)
DraftKings Odds
Moneyline: Diamondbacks -156, Cardinals +128
Total: 9 (over -106, under -114)
Cards Try To Avoid Sweep
The St. Louis Cardinals look to turn around a disastrous start to the second half when they go up against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the finale of their three-game series this afternoon.
The Redbirds have dropped the first two games in the desert by a combined score of 17-4, as they have now dropped to fourth place in the NL Central with the Reds passing them by yesterday.
Cardinals’ Pitching Falling Apart
After reaching a season-high 9 games over .500 by sweeping Cleveland on June 29th, the Cards are now 4-10 in their last 14 games. The Cardinals have allowed an average of 6.14 runs per game in that stretch, and overall for the season, their team ERA has dipped to 4.18 (22nd in MLB). Their starting pitching ERA for the season ranks 24th in MLB at 4.49.
Miles Mikolas is tasked today with getting the staff back on track. The right-hander has been brutal on the road this season with a 5.58 ERA in 10 starts.
Dbacks With Hot Bats
The Diamondbacks are mashing in this series, which is no surprise considering they rank 4th in baseball scoring 5.15 runs per game. Eugenio Suárez blasted a pair of home runs yesterday to bring his season total to 33. The Arizona third baseman is 7-for-17 with 2 homers in his career against Mikolas.
Merrill Kelly makes the start today for the Diamondbacks. Since getting crushed by the Yankees for 9 runs in his second start of the season, Kelly has posted a 2.78 ERA and 0.96 WHIP in 18 starts.
My Pick
We may be in the midst of the Cardinals’ definitive stretch of the season that results in them turning into sellers at the trade deadline, and I buy that narrative. The Cards’ starting pitching overachieved much of the first half, but regression has come hard for this mediocre-at-best staff.
This feels like a nightmare matchup today. Kelly is one of the league’s most underrated pitchers in my opinion, and while Mikolas can occasionally cobble together a good start, I don’t like his chances today against a lineup as formidable as Arizona’s.
Look for a third consecutive blowout loss for the fading Cardinals.
Pick: Diamondbacks -1.5 at +133 on DraftKings (bet to +125)
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