The Houston Astros (42-37) and St. Louis Cardinals (33-45) play the middle contest of a 3-game series Wedneaday. First pitch at Busch Stadium is slated for 7:45 p.m. ET (MLB Network). Let’s analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s lines around the Astros vs. Cardinals odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: Cardinals lead 1-0
Houston lost Tuesday’s series opener 4-2 and is 1-3 on a current road trip. Over their last 10 road games, the Astros have averaged just 3.70 runs per game on a .634 OPS.
St. Louis endured an awful 2-11 stretch to start the month, but since June 17 the Redbirds’ bats have come alive and the club is 6-2 with a .795 OPS.
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Astros at Cardinals projected starters
RHP Cristian Javier vs. RHP Miles Mikolas
Javier (7-1, 3.25 ERA) makes his 16th start. He has notched a 1.12 WHIP, 2.6 BB/9 and 8.4 K/9 in 83 innings.
- Coming off his worst start this season: 4 ER in 2 1/3 IP Wednesday vs. the New York Mets while walking a career-high 5 batters
- Has benefited from a .268 batting average on balls in play
Mikolas (4-5, 4.23 ERA) makes his 17th start. He has a 1.36 WHIP, 1.8 BB/9 and 6.3 K/9 in 93 2/3 innings.
- Has a 4.97 ERA at home
- Has given the Cardinals 6-plus innings in 6 of his last 7 starts (3.52 ERA over that span)
Astros at Cardinals odds
Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 8:45 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline: Astros -102 (bet $102 to win $100) | Cardinals -116 (bet $116 to win $100)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Astros -1.5 (+155) | Cardinals +1.5 (-188)
- Over/Under (O/U): 8.5 (O: -122 | U: +100)
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Astros at Cardinals picks and predictions
Prediction
Cardinals 6, Astros 5
Moneyline
Houston figures to be a couple of games overcooked. St. Louis swings the other way against expected won-loss record. An 8-16 mark in 1-run games hasn’t helped.
The Cards are a slight lean if the price gets under -112. Otherwise PASS.
Run line/Against the spread
Again, no lean, and this play adds more juice. PASS.
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Over/Under
Fading both starters here and seeing more life in the St. Louis offense, BACK THE OVER 8.5 (-122). A warm, humid evening figures to produce a few home runs in this contest. St. Louis is quite good against right-handed pitching (.750 OPS). Houston should be able to leverage its speed against Mikolas.
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