Game Information
St. Louis Cardinals (53-51) vs San Diego Padres (55-48)
Time: 6:15pm CT Friday
How to watch: FanDuel Sports Network
Probable pitchers: Miles Mikolas (5-7, 5.20 ERA) vs Nick Pivetta (10-2, 2.81 ERA)
DraftKings Odds
Moneyline: Padres -144, Cardinals +119
Total: 8.5 (over -107, under -113)
Cards Continue Chase Of Padres
With the trade deadline looming, the St. Louis Cardinals continue their important four-game series with the San Diego Padres tonight at Busch Stadium.
The Redbirds took the opener last night 9-7 to pull within 2.5 games of San Diego for the final NL Wild Card spot. They also trail the Reds by a half-game and the Giants by 1.5 games.
Mikolas Makes The Start
Miles Mikolas looks to get back on track when he heads to the hill tonight. After beating the Diamondbacks on May 23rd, the right-hander was 4-2 with a 3.51 ERA. In 9 starts since then, he is 1-5 with a 7.09 ERA.
Mikolas particularly has struggled against playoff teams this season. In 6 starts against teams like the Padres currently in playoff position, he has a 8.90 ERA in 29.1 innings. The Cardinals are 0-6 in those games.
Pivetta On Fire
The Padres carry a three-game losing streak into tonight’s action, and they haven’t been a good road team this season with a 24-30 record away from home.
The Padres should feel confident tonight though sending Nick Pivetta to the mound. The right-hander has been effective all season long, and he has been on a heater lately. Over his last 5 starts, Pivetta has allowed a grand total of 2 earned runs in 31.1 innings for a 0.57 ERA and a 0.76 WHIP.
My Pick
As the old saying goes, momentum only goes as far as the next day’s starting pitcher. The Cardinals got a nice win last night that has some thinking just maybe they can turn this thing around.
But I think tonight is a “back to reality” game.
The Cardinals’ starting pitching ERA ranks 25th in MLB at 4.67, with Mikolas being a big reason for that. And Pivetta has had good stuff for a long time, and he is finally putting it all together this season.
Look for the Redbirds to fall to 0-7 when Mikolas faces teams in playoff position this season.
Pick: Padres -1 at -114 on DraftKings (bet to -120)
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