Game Information
St. Louis Cardinals (55-55) at San Diego Padres (60-49)
Time: 8:40pm CT Friday
How to watch: FanDuel Sports Network
Probable pitchers: Matthew Liberatore (6-8, 4.04 ERA) vs Nick Pivetta (10-3, 2.81 ERA)
DraftKings Odds
Moneyline: Padres -205, Cardinals +167
Total: 7.5 (over -108, under -112)
Cards, Padres Meet Again
The St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres meet for the second straight weekend when they kick off a three-game set tonight at Petco Park.
The two teams split four games last weekend at Busch Stadium, and the Padres are a -180 favorite to take this series in San Diego. We have also seen major line movement in tonight’s game with the Padres being bet up from an original -140 favorite all the way up to the current price of -205.
How Deep Will Libby Go?
It will be interesting to see how long Matthew Liberatore goes in tonight’s game. The left-hander started against the Padres last Saturday in his first outing since the All Star break after getting some extended rest. Liberatore was pulled after just 4.1 innings and 77 pitches, but he survived while giving up 1 earned run on 6 hits and 2 walks with just 3 strikeouts.
The Cardinals are in a tough situation tonight with their bullpen depleted after the trades of Steven Matz, Phil Maton, and Ryan Helsley, so even if Liberatore pitches well, the Padres will have to be licking their chops late in the game to tack on more runs.
Padres, Pivetta Continue To Roll
The vibes are good with the Padres, as they’ve gotten hot again and now have reinforcements coming after the trade deadline. San Diego is riding a five-game winning streak which includes two wins over the Cardinals and a three-game sweep of the Mets, and the Padres’ bats are hot with 28 runs scored over their last four games.
Tonight’s starter Nick Pivetta has been on an absolute heater with a 0.96 ERA over his last six outings. He has also been lights-out at home with a 2.07 ERA in 11 starts this season at Petco Park.
My Pick
I would recommend finding any way you can to back the Padres tonight, as it feels like the Cardinals are walking into a hornet’s nest in this one.
I’m going to take a shot on a Same Game Parlay at a nice plus money price by betting the Padres to win and Manny Machado to have 2+ total bases. Machado is sizzling over his last eight games, going 18-for-34 (.529 average) with 2 home runs and 11 RBI. He also has a .901 OPS against lefties this season.
Put these two plays together, and you get an attractive price of +158.
Pick: Same Game Parlay priced at +158 on DraftKings - Padres to win AND Manny Machado to have 2+ total bases (bet to +140)
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