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The St. Louis Cardinals (61-78) will conclude a 3-game series against the Atlanta Braves (90-48) on Thursday at Truist Park. First pitch is scheduled for 7:20 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Cardinals vs. Braves odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: Braves lead 3-2
The Cardinals beat the Braves 11-6 on Wednesday as they produced 6 earned runs on RHP Spencer Strider before the 3rd inning ended. St. Louis has won 3 straight games, but it remains in last place in the NL Central and is 11 games back of the final NL Wild Card.
Braves 1B Matt Olson hit his league-leading 46th homer of the season and 3B Austin Riley hit his 34th homer in Wednesday’s loss. Atlanta is on a 3-game losing skid but is still 13 1/2 games ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies for 1st place in the NL East.
Cardinals at Braves projected starters
RHP Adam Wainwright vs. LHP Max Fried
Wainwright (3-10, 8.10 ERA) makes his 19th start. He has a 1.98 WHIP, 3.6 BB/9 and 4.9 K/9 through 83 1/3 IP.
- Last start: Loss, 6 IP, 1 ER, 8 H, 3 BB, 1 K in 4-1 home defeat vs. Diego Padres on Aug. 28.
- 2023 road stats: 2-3, 8.67 ERA (36 1/3 IP, 35 ER) in 8 starts
- Career vs. Braves: 10-4, 3.42 ERA (108 IP, 41 ER) in 16 starts and 5 relief appearances
Fried (6-1, 2.52 ERA) makes his 12th start. He has a 1.15 WHIP, 1.9 BB/9 and 9.3 K/9 through 60 2/3 IP.
- Last start: Win, 7 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 10 K in a 6-3 road victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers Friday
- 2023 home stats: 1-1, 3.70 ERA (24 1/3 IP, 10 ER) in 4 starts
- Career vs. Cardinals: 4-0, 0.34 ERA (26 2/3 IP, 1 ER) in 4 starts and 1 relief appearance
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Cardinals at Braves odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 9 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Cardinals +230 (bet $100 to win $230) | Braves -300 (bet $300 to win $100)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Cardinals +2.5 (-115) | Braves -2.5 (-105)
- Over/Under (O/U): 10.5 (O: -105 | U: -115)
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Cardinals at Braves picks and predictions
Prediction
Braves 7, Cardinals 3
Moneyline
While the Braves (-300) should easily win Thursday, just AVOID taking their moneyline in this matchup. Risking 3 times your potential return isn’t advised, no matter how much of a lock a team seems to be.
Run line/Against the spread
Taking a team to win by at least 3 runs is unusual in baseball, but I’ll take the BRAVES -2.5 (-115) at home against an aging Wainwright. Wainwright has given up 6 earned runs or more in 3 of his last 5 starts, and the Braves boast the best lineup in the league.
Over/Under
UNDER 10.5 (-115) is the lean in this game despite Wainwright’s woes on the mound. There’s certainly a chance the Braves can hit the Over themselves, but with Fried pitching for Atlanta, it’s hard to envision the Cardinals having much success at the plate.
Since the beginning of August, the Cardinals have the 13th-lowest ISO (.160), the 10th-lowest wOBA (.301), and the 10th-lowest wRC+ (89) against left-handed pitching.
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