The New York Yankees (45-36) and St. Louis Cardinals (33-47) are slated to play a doubleheader Saturday. The first pitch in Game 1 at Busch Stadium is scheduled for 2:15 p.m. ET (FS1). Let’s analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s lines around the Yankees vs. Cardinals Game 1 odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: First meeting of 2023; St. Louis won last season’s series 3-0
These teams were set to open their series Friday but were rained out.
With tremendous pitching, including a Wednesday perfect game by RHP Domingo German, New York has gone 4-1 since last Saturday. The Yankees have logged a 1.84 ERA, 1.02 WHIP over that stretch.
St. Louis is likely glad to have flipped a calendar page before Saturday’s double-dip. The Redbirds are fresh off a rotten 8-15 June. They logged a 5.28 ERA overall and a 6.39 ERA across 11 home dates in June.
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Yankees at Cardinals projected starters
RHP Luis Severino vs. RHP Jack Flaherty
Severino (1-2, 5.25 ERA) makes his 8th start. He has a 1.50 WHIP, 3.8 BB/9 and a 8.0 K/9 in 36 innings.
- Went 6 scoreless frames in his last start (June 24 vs. Texas Rangers); logged a 9.16 ERA, 2.04 in 4 other June starts
- Perhaps loses some effectiveness being pushed back a day: owns a 3.03 career ERA on 5 days’ rest and a 3.94 mark on 6-day intervals
Flaherty (4-5, 4.95 ERA) makes his 16th start. He has a 1.60 WHIP, 5.0 BB/9 and 9.0 K/9 in 80 innings.
- Making his 1st start since June 19 after suffering a hip injury
- Has held opposing batters to a tidy .607 OPS across 55 career games at Busch
Yankees 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 9:01 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline: Yankees -102 (bet $102 to win $100) | Cardinals -116 (bet $116 to win $100)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Yankees -1.5 (+155) | Cardinals +1.5 (-188)
- Over/Under (O/U): 9 (O: -115 | U: -105)
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Yankees at Cardinals picks and predictions
Prediction
Yankees 6, Cardinals 4
Moneyline
No interest in either side here. The Yankees are on a bit of a roll. The offensive explosion in Oakland (21 runs over Wednesday-Thursday) was impressive, but New York had been slumping, logging a minuscule .602 OPS over 14 games prior.
Flaherty’s layoff and the Cards’ overall level of play of late leave a lot to be desired if looking to bet the home 9. And St. Louis is just 2-8 over its last 10 games at home.
AVOID.
Run line/Against the spread
Based on price more than prediction, the New York -1.5 play is the most interesting side. Weather conditions, the pitching and, likely, the doubleheader scenario play into a higher-scoring, more-probably loose game in this opener. The Yanks at +160 on the run line would be some nice leverage. If the tag got to +155, a New York -1.5 wager would be worth some partial-unit action. Otherwise, PASS.
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Over/Under
Severino clocked a quality start in his last: in next time outs after such games, the Over has hit in 4 straight. The Over is also 5-0 in Flaherty’s last 5 turns at Busch Stadium.
On a 90-degree day in St. Louis, with a batter’s breeze blowing out to left-center — and with the pitching particulars involved — in a Game 1 whereby top relievers could be held back a bit, BACK THE OVER 9 (-115).
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