Cardinals vs. Padres Odds
| Cardinals Odds | +125 |
| Padres Odds | -150 |
| Over/Under | 8 (-105 / -115) |
| Time | 4:10 p.m. ET |
| TV | MLB.TV |
| Odds via BetMGM. Get up-to-the-minute MLB odds here. | |
On Thursday afternoon, the St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres will conclude a three-game series at Petco Park.
The Padres have taken the first two games of this series, winning 5-0 on Tuesday and 1-0 last night. Padres starter Blake Snell pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out 12 Cardinals in the most recent win. The Padres have now won five straight games entering Thursday's game.
For the Cardinals, the loss was their third straight. St. Louis' bats have gone cold, and another tough assignment awaits with Joe Musgrove getting the ball for the Padres. The Cardinals will counter with Jack Flaherty.
With a couple of top starters on the mound, the total may just be the side to target in this one.
Struggles for St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals have not clinched the NL Central just yet, but it holds a comfortable 7.5-game lead with just two weeks to play. The biggest story surrounding the team right now is Albert Pujols' chase for 700 home runs. However, that has overshadowed a team that's been shut out in each of its last three games.
As a team, the Cardinals have hit just .102 in the past three games. They also have scored two or fewer runs in five of their last seven games.
That coincides with the slumps from Cardinals stars. Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado each has not homered in seven games. Over the last 15, they each have one home run – with Goldschmidt hitting just .222 and Arenado at .218. The Cardinals do not have a starter hitting .300 over the last week.
The Cards have hit Musgrove well historically, but they have not faced the right-hander during his breakout season.
Los Angeles native Flaherty will get the ball for the Cardinals, two hours away from his hometown. He has had a rough season and has battled injuries and been limited to just six starts. He has a 5.09 ERA this season and allowed four runs in five innings his last time out against the Pirates.
Inconsistent Offense for San Diego Padres
San Diego's playoff aspirations are in a healthy position with the season winding down.
The Padres are in the second wild card spot with a 1.5-game lead on the Phillies and 2.5-game lead on the Brewers. During the team's five-game winning streak, it has held opponents to just four runs.
It is up to Joe Musgrove to keep the line moving today.
In his last start, Musgrove allowed just four hits in six scoreless innings while striking out eight against the Diamondbacks. This season, Musgrove is 10-7 with a 3.16 ERA. He ranks in the 80th percentile or above in Chase Rate, Walk Rate, Hard Hit Percentage, and Average Exit Velocity.
Musgrove is 2-7 with a 5.53 ERA in his career against the Cardinals. However, he has a 3.33 ERA at home this season.
Although the Padres are on a winning streak, they have been hot and cold on offense. In the last nine games, the Padres have had outbursts of 12, six and five runs. However, in the other six games in that span, the team has scored two runs or fewer. A few of the team's notable hitters have been in slumps, as well.
After all the excitement from his trade from the Nationals, Juan Soto is hitting .234 with four home runs and 13 RBIs as a Padre. He is hitting .190 over his last 30 games.
Additionally, Josh Bell, who came over with Soto, is hitting just .222 in his last 30 games and has one home run in his last 15 games.
Manny Machado is hitting .211 over his last 15 games.
Soto, Bell and Machado are also a combined 7-for-33 against Flaherty.
Cardinals-Padres Pick
There's a lot of offensive firepower on both sides of this game. However, the teams have combined for just six runs in this series.
St. Louis has not scored in three games and has just one run in its last four games. At some point, the Cardinals will score some runs. However, I do not expect them to score much off Musgrove.
Meanwhile, the Padres are not scoring much either while the big bats in its lineup are struggling.
As a result, I am expecting this to be a low-scoring game on Thursday afternoon. The under has hit in each of the Cardinals' last five games and four of the Padres' last five games. The under is also 4-0-1 in the last five head-to-head matchups. I will be backing the under once again in this one.
Pick: Under 8 (-115)
