The St. Louis Cardinals (2-3) visit the Milwaukee Brewers (3-3) Friday, looking to halt a three-game skid when they kick off a weekend series at Miller Park at 2:10 p.m. ET. We analyze the Cardinals-Brewers MLB betting odds and lines, with picks and best bets.
Cardinals at Brewers: Projected starting pitchers
RHP Jack Flaherty vs. LHP Brett Anderson
Flaherty shut down the Pirates on Opening Day, holding them to two runs on six hits in seven innings of a 5-4 win July 24.
- Flaherty racked up 35 strikeouts in 25 innings against the Brewers in 2019, but at the same time, put up a 6.48 ERA with eight homers allowed in five starts. This included three starts in Milwaukee, where the right-hander surrendered 11 earned runs and four home runs in 13 innings.
- He has been one of the top pitchers in the league over the past calendar year. In 17 starts dating back to last July, Flaherty boasts a 1.03 ERA and 10.8 K/9.
Anderson will make his season debut, after he opened the season on the 10-day IL because of a blister on a finger of his pitching hand.
- Anderson matched a career-high with 31 starts in 2019, and recorded a 3.89 ERA.
- He doesn’t miss many bats, as shown by his 4.6 K/9, instead relying on a high-ground ball rate (54%) to limit the damage against him.
Baseball season is finally here! Get some action on the 2020 season with an MLB bet at BetMGM in NJ, IN, CO and WV. Bet now!
Cardinals at Brewers: Key injuries
(List of injuries around the league)
Cardinals
- SP Miles Mikolas (forearm) out for season
- 2B Brad Miller (ankle) out
Brewers
- 2B Luis Urias (COVID-19) out
- C Manny Pina (finger) questionable
Also see: BaseballHQ Fantasy Baseball
Cardinals at Brewers: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips
MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 9:40 a.m. ET.
Prediction
Cardinals 5, Brewers 3
Moneyline (ML)
Flaherty’s run of dominance during the second half of 2019 carried over into his first outing in 2020. His poor numbers against the Brewers aren’t much cause for concern, as three of the five starts against them were during the first month of the season, before he started to dominate.
The Cardinals bats have been pretty quiet thus far, averaging just 3.6 runs per game through five contests. They should be able to do enough against Anderson to pull this one out. Back the CARDINALS (-139).
New to sports betting? A winning $10 bet on the Cardinals at -139 returns a profit of $7.19.
Run line/Against the spread (ATS)
The Cardinals are -1.5 (+110), while the Brewers are +1.5 (-134). While St. Louis should win the game, it has started slowly on offense, and Anderson doesn’t typically have many disaster outings. In this case, PASS on the run line, and stick to the moneyline wager.
Over/Under (O/U)
Flaherty is a good bet to work deep into this game, and to keep the Milwaukee bats at bay, while Anderson should be able to keep the game close. Side with the UNDER 9 (-110), as neither offense is likely to have a really big day.
Want some action on this game? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips and advice, visit SportsbookWire.com.
Follow @RuddHQ on Twitter, and follow @SportsbookWire on Twitter and Facebook.
Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.
[lawrence-newsletter]
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1372]