Game Information
St. Louis Cardinals (68-71) vs Athletics (64-75)
Time: 6:45pm CT Tuesday
How to watch: FanDuel Sports Network
Probable pitchers: Miles Mikolas (6-10, 5.04 ERA) vs Luis Severino (6-11, 4.82 ERA)
DraftKings Odds
Moneyline: Cardinals -111, Athletics -110
Total: 8.5 (over -110, under -111)
Cards Look For Bounceback
The St. Louis Cardinals look to wipe yesterday’s taste out of their mouths when they take on the Athletics in the second of a three-game set tonight at Busch Stadium.
The Redbirds got crushed 11-3 yesterday in the series opener. One of the few positives is that the bullpen is mostly fresh for this evening’s game, as the Cards only had to use Ryan Fernandez and Chris Roycroft in the blowout loss.
Mikolas In Favorable Matchup
Miles Mikolas will be on the bump tonight in his most favorable situational spot - at home against a below average team.
The veteran right-hander has a solid 3.57 ERA in 13 starts at Busch Stadium this year.
Mikolas also has been very serviceable against teams not currently in playoff position like the A’s with a 3.68 ERA in 17 starts. The Cardinals have a strong 11-6 record in those 17 games as well.
The Redbirds do need to get their bats going again, as they have scored more than 4 runs just once in their last seven games.
Severino Returns For A’s
Luis Severino will come off the injured list to take the ball tonight for the Athletics. He’ll be making his first start since August 5th after recovering from an oblique strain. Severino was 4-1 with a 2.93 ERA over his last 5 starts before being placed on the IL.
Despite the 11-run outburst yesterday, trends suggest the A’s won’t be able to follow that up with another strong offensive performance tonight. The Athletics have scored double-digit runs 11 previous times this season. In the following game, they are averaging just 3.09 runs per contest.
My Lean
I actually think the Cardinals are going to win tonight - but I don’t like it enough to bet it unless the Redbirds get down to plus money.
I laid out the case for Mikolas above. I think this is a good spot for him as he enters almost certainly his final month as a Cardinal and quite possibly the final month of his career.
And Severino did not go on a minor league rehab assignment, so I could see him having some rust after nearly a month in between starts.
While the Cardinals are out of the playoff race, there is still plenty of drama left in the season for people that bet the over 75.5 on the Cards’ season win total (raising my hand). This is a game I look for them to win to help get that bet home.
Lean: Cardinals on the moneyline at -111 on DraftKings
Eric Sontag hosts Domesticated Gamblers every Wednesday night 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