The St. Louis Cardinals will be looking for any way to get a victory over the Atlanta Braves before they leave town Sunday night. After getting rained out Saturday, they will have two opportunities Sunday.
The second will be in front of a national audience as the two teams will be featured on Sunday Night Baseball.
St. Louis Cardinals Betting Preview: Get Healthy
The St. Louis Cardinals come into play with a record of 35-35, good for fourth place in the National League Central, 3.5 games behind the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers. The Cards trail the Cincinnati Reds by a half-game. St. Louis is struggling, having lost the first two games of the series by a combined total of 13-1.
The Cardinals’ main issue right now is the health of the starting rotation. Starters Jack Flaherty and Miles Mikolas are on the IL. They have had to mix and match pitchers to fill in, and the results have been mixed.
On Sunday night, St. Louis will send lefthander Kwang Hyun Kim to the mound. Kim has a record of 1-4 with a 3.72 ERA. In 46 innings, he has struck out 42 hitters and walked 17. In his last outing, Kim went six innings, allowing one run on three hits. After some control issues early, as evidenced by his four walks, he settled in to get the win over the Miami Marlins.
Offensively, the Cardinals are led by third baseman Nolan Arenado. Arenado is hitting .266 with 12 home runs and 44 RBI. Left fielder Tyler O’Neill is having a terrific season as well. Injuries have slowed his numbers somewhat, but he is hitting .277 with 15 home runs and 33 RBI.
Atlanta Braves Betting Preview: Time to Put it Together
The Atlanta Braves come into play with a record of 32-35, good for third place in the National League East, 5.5 games behind the New York Mets. They trail the Philadelphia Phillies by 1.5 games for second place in the division. The Braves have not had a consistent stretch of good baseball yet this season.
The team is sixth in the National League in hitting with a team batting average of .239, but they are 11th in the NL in team ERA, which stands at 4.39. The Braves took the first two games of this series in relatively easy fashion. This was on the heels of them being swept in a two-game set by the Boston Red Sox.
Atlanta will send lefty Drew Smyly to the mound in the nightcap of the doubleheader Sunday. Smyly is 3-3 with a 5.63 ERA this season. In 56 innings, he has struck out 49 and walked 20. In his last outing, Smyly threw five shutout innings in a 6-4 Braves win.
Offensively, the Braves are led by right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. Acuna Jr. is hitting .293 with 18 home runs and 43 RBI. He has also stolen 13 bases. Third baseman Austin Riley is hitting .291 with 12 home runs and 31 RBI. First baseman Freddie Freeman has hit 16 home runs and driven in 39 runs despite hitting just .242.
Betting Lines and Predictions
There currently is not any betting information on this game, as the two teams will be playing earlier in the day as well. However, the Braves dominated the first two games of the series. Expect them to take one of the two games today, with the nightcap being that game. When the betting information comes out, take the Braves.
Pick: Atlanta Braves
