The Los Angeles Angels (17-14) close out a 6-game road trip and try to complete a 3-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals (10-21) Thursday. First pitch at Busch Stadium is at 1:15 p.m. ET (MLB Network). Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Angels vs. Cardinals odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: Angels lead 2-0
The Angels took the first 2 games of the series 5-1 Tuesday and 6-4 Wednesday. RHP Shohei Ohtani struck out 13 batters in 5 innings Wednesday and Los Angeles rallied for 3 runs in the 9th inning to pick up the victory. L.A. has won 3 outings in a row and 6 of its last 8 games.
The Cardinals have lost 5 games in a row and 8 of their last 9.
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Angels at Cardinals projected starters
RHP Griffin Canning vs. RHP Jack Flaherty
Canning (1-0, 4.11 ERA) makes his 4th start. He has a 1.17 WHIP, 5 BB and 15 K through 15 1/3 IP.
- Is 0-1 with a 3.38 ERA in 5 1/3 IP in his lone career start vs. the Cardinals in 2019
- Picked up his first win of the season vs. the Oakland Athletics Friday, allowing 3 ER on 4 H and 2 BB with 7 K
Flaherty (2-3, 3.94 ERA) makes his 7th start. He has a 1.44 WHIP, 5.9 BB/9 and 9.3 K/9 through 32 IP.
- Allowed 3 or more ER in each of his last 3 starts
- Had his shortest outing of the season last time out, going 4 2/3 IP at the Los Angeles Dodgers Friday
Angels at Cardinals odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 9:06 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Angels +120 (bet $100 to win $120) | Cardinals -145 (bet $145 to win $100)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Angels +1.5 (-165) | Cardinals -1.5 (+135)
- Over/Under (O/U): 9 (O: -105 | U: -115)
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Angels at Cardinals picks and predictions
Prediction
Cardinals 7, Angels 4
Moneyline
The Angels have not swept a series yet this season.
The Cardinals have alternated wins and losses in each of Flaherty’s previous 6 starts and lost his last outing.
I like the Cardinals to avoid the sweep but because 9 of their 10 wins this year have been by more than one run, I prefer the better odds on the run line.
PASS.
Run line/Against the spread
While the Cardinals only have 10 wins all season, 9 of them are by more than 1 run.
Half of the Angels’ 14 losses have been by 2 or more runs.
The plus money odds on the run line for the Cardinals make this the bet to make because of the potential payout.
BET CARDINALS -1.5 (+135).
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Over/Under
The Cardinals have scored 5 or more runs in 8 of their 10 wins.
Five of the Angels’ last 9 games have had 10 or more total runs.
Four of the last 10 for the Cardinals have had 10 or more total runs.
BET OVER 9 (-105).
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