Both the St. Louis Cardinals (29-28) and Milwaukee Brewers (29-30) are battling for their playoff lives heading into the final day of the season. First pitch is set for 3:15 p.m. ET at Busch Stadium. Below, we analyze the Brewers-Cardinals betting odds and lines, with MLB picks and best bets.
Brewers at Cardinals: Projected starting pitchers
LHP Brett Anderson vs. LHP Austin Gomber
Anderson has been very good in his last two starts. He allowed just two earned runs over 6 innings against the Cardinals, and one earned run in 6 innings with a season-high 7 strikeouts against the Cincinnati Reds. Overall, he has a 4.00 ERA and 6.2 K/9 through 45 innings.
- In four road starts on the season, Anderson has a 3.38 ERA with 18 strikeouts, 4 walks, and just 2 homers allowed over 21 1/3 innings.
- The velocity on his sinker, his most used pitch, has been down all year, but it has been trending up in his last few starts. It’s probably no coincidence that after recording more than 6 swinging strikes just once in his first 7 starts, he has induced whiff totals of 9 and 15 his last two times out.
Gomber has made just three starts in his 13 appearances on the season, but all of the starting nods have come in September. In all, he has posted a 1.80 ERA, but that mark isn’t supported by his skills, which include an 8.6 K/9 and 4.7 BB/9.
- Gomber had topped out at three innings prior to his last start, but he was very efficient in that one. He tossed 6 shutout innings on just 76 pitches while punching out 3 batters.
- He has struggled with his control in this year’s small sample size and will be facing an offense Sunday with the league’s highest walk rate against left-handed pitching.
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Cardinals at Brewers: Key injuries
(Get the latest injury news here.)
Brewers
- OF Ben Gamel (quadriceps) out
- C Manny Pina (knee) out
- OF Lorenzo Cain (personal) out
Cardinals
- RP Jordan Hicks (elbow) out
- RP John Brebbia (elbow) out
Brewers at Cardinals: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips
MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 12:30 p.m. ET.
Prediction
Brewers 6, Cardinals 4
Money line (ML)
- Brewers (-106)
- Cardinals (-106)
Neither starting pitcher is extremely trustworthy, but Anderson has shown some positive signs lately. Also, while the St. Louis relief corps owns a slightly lower ERA than the Brewers, the underlying numbers tell a different story, as Milwaukee’s ‘pen leads the league in K% and SIERA. Look for the BREWERS (-106) to come out on top and clinch a playoff berth Sunday afternoon.
New to sports betting? A $10.60 bet on either team at -106 to win would return a profit of $10,00.
Run line/Against the spread (ATS)
- Brewers -1.5 (+145)
- Cardinals +1.5 (-176)
Despite the low ERA, Gomber has shown marginal skills even in short stints, and is a poor bet to maintain that level of success as a starter. As the road team, there’s a better chance to break a game open in the late innings, so the BREWERS -1.5 (+145) look like a solid value.
Over/Under (O/U)
- Over 8 (-110)
- Under 8 (-110)
Neither offense is likely to get completely shut down in this contest, as both starters bring pretty soft skills to the table. While this probably won’t be a real high-scoring game, we should see enough runs cross the plate to push this total OVER 8 (-110).
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