Cardinals vs. Blue Jays Odds
| Cardinals Odds | +205 |
| Blue Jays Odds | -245 |
| Over/Under | 8 |
| Time | 7:07 p.m. ET |
| TV | MLB.TV |
| Odds updated as of Wednesday afternoon via DraftKings. Get up-to-the-minute MLB odds here. | |
Toronto won for the ninth time in the last 10 games on Tuesday, dismantling the shorthanded Cardinals, 10-3, in the series opener.
Adam Wainwright will be tasked with shutting down the Jays' offense on Wednesday. He has managed another impressive season at the age of 40, with a 3.40 ERA in 116 innings.
Meanwhile, lefty Kevin Gausman will start for the Blue Jays. He has been one of the league's elite to start the 2022 campaign, with an ERA of 3.00 in 99 innings pitched.
Will Gausman lead his squad to an eighth consecutive win on Wednesday?
How Cards' Wainwright Matches Up With Dominant Offense
With Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt unable to travel into Canada for this series, St. Louis is certainly more likely to need quality pitching performances in order to steal wins.
As we saw in the series opener, shutting down this Jays offense is currently a very tough proposition.
Wainwright's 4.48 xERA and 3.95 xFIP suggests some regression may be coming toward his stellar season-long numbers. He'll now face a Toronto team that has been excellent against right-handed pitching this season.
On the road, Wainwright has pitched to considerably worse splits, with a 1.40 WHIP and a 4.81 ERA. At home, he owns a 1.08 WHIP and a 2.01 ERA.
On the season, the Cards have hit right-handed pitching effectively, with a 104 wRC+ and .312 wOBA. Part of that success has been Goldschmidt and Arenado's combined .909 OPS, though.
Blue Jays' Offense Shining Bright Since Manager Change
On the days when Toronto sees reasonable pitching performances, the team certainly offers a very stiff challenge. With Gausman on the mound for Toronto on Wednesday, it should expect exactly that.
Gausman has regressed since a Cy Young-level start to the season, but he has still managed a 2.42 ERA over his last 26 innings of work.
Gausman has pitched to a stellar K/BB ratio of 6.4 this season and owns an elite 2.74 xFIP.
Should Gausman manage a solid start on Wednesday, it could certainly mean claiming his eighth win of the season.
That is especially true since the Blue Jays' lineup has been in spectacular form over the last 30 days.
Toronto has batted to a 127 wRC+ with a .353 wOBA over the last month, and that's not including the numbers from Tuesday's massive output in the series opener.
Since the firing of manager Charlie Montoyo, the Jays have averaged 8.5 runs per game. If you exclude the 28-run single game output vs. the Red Sox, they're still averaging a ridiculous 6.1 a night.
The Blue Jays have struck out at the second-lowest rate in the league over that time at just 18.5%, and they are seeing consistent contributions from up-and-down the lineup.
They have elite splits against right-handed pitching, in particular, this season, including a third-best 116 wRC+ and a .445 SLG rate.
Cardinals-Blue Jays Pick
Toronto's runline has already moved significantly since opening as high as +115 on Tuesday night. It's easy to see why people are high on the red-hot Blue Jays in this spot.
Toronto's lethal batting order enters this matchup in excellent form, and I think we should see it manage another strong performance against Wainwright, whose play has been regressing of late.
Gausman is certainly a formidable challenge for the Cardinals' shorthanded current lineup, and I think Toronto has a greater than 50% chance of covering -1.5 in this spot with him on the mound.
I would back the Jays -1.5 down to -115.
Pick: Toronto Blue Jays -1.5 +100 (Play to -115)
