The New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals engaged in a thrilling opener to a three-game series Monday — well, thrilling to those who aren’t Cardinals fans. Or Under bettors.
After the teams scored precisely zero runs through the seventh-inning stretch, they combined for seven before recording the next six outs. The result: A 5-2 Mets victory that left those who bet Under 6.5 runs either speechless or firing off expletives that would make Dave Chappelle blush.
Mets vs Cardinals odds are back on the betting board Tuesday, and what do you know: It looks like another pitchers’ duel is on tap — maybe even for the full nine innings. (Sorry, Under bettors — that was a low blow.)
One thing we do know for certain: Win or lose, New York will end the day at least tied for the most wins in baseball.
Props.com dives into Mets vs Cardinals odds and ends in our betting preview of Tuesday’s top NL matchup.
Odds via WynnBet and updated as of 6:20 p.m. ET on April 26.
New York Mets (13-5) vs St. Louis Cardinals (9-6)
First Pitch/TV: 7:45 p.m. ET/TBS & MLB.TV
Moneyline: Mets -121/Cardinals +111
Run Line: Mets -1.5 (+152)/Cardinals +1.5 (-184)
Total: 7 (Over -105/Under -107)
Pitching matchup: RHP Chris Bassitt (2-1, 3.00 ERA, 0.94 WHIP) vs RHP Jordan Hicks (1-1, 1.29 ERA, 0.94 WHIP)
Season series: The Mets lead 1-0 after rallying for a 5-2 victory Monday night. Despite that result, the Cardinals are still 10-4 in their last 14 games against New York. However, the visitor has won each of the last six head-to-head meetings.
Did you know: New York’s 4.5-game lead in the NL East is the largest in any division. Also, the Mets’ 13 victories lead MLB (one ahead of the Dodgers and Giants).
About the Mets
Hits & Misses: New York got another brilliant start of Max Scherzer on Monday. The three-time Cy Young winner yielded just two hits and a walk and struck out 10 over seven shutout innings. However, the Mets’ offense couldn’t solve Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas, who matched Scherzer’s seven scoreless innings, scattering four hits and a walk. But after the Cardinals took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the eighth, New York erupted for five runs in the bottom of the frame and held on for the victory. Buck Showalter’s club is now 10-3 in its last 13 games (5-1 on the road). During this stretch, the Mets have outscored their foes 63-38, giving up three runs or fewer eight times.
On the Mound: Bassitt was traded from Oakland to New York in March and delivered two spectacular starts to begin the season. In 12 innings against the Nationals and Diamondbacks, the right-hander had more strikeouts (14) than runs, hits and walks allowed (combined nine). However, Bassitt got roughed up Thursday by the Giants, yielding five runs — four in the first two innings — on eight hits in six frames, losing 5-2 at home. Bassitt has only faced the Cardinals once, back in 2019 with Oakland. He lasted just 3.1 innings, getting touched for three runs on four hits and four walks in 3.1 innings, with Oakland losing 7-3.
Key injuries: RP Sean Reid-Foley (leg) remains day-to-day. Aside from players dealing with long-term injuries, the Mets are otherwise healthy.
About the Cardinals
Hits & Misses: St. Louis has lost consecutive games for the first time during this young season. What made Monday’s defeat particularly surprising is the Cardinals entered the contest with the second-best bullpen ERA in baseball (1.95), having allowed just 12 earned runs in 14 games. In giving up five runs in the top of the ninth to the Mets, St. Louis fell to eighth in the bullpen ERA standings (2.67). There is one silver lining for the Cardinals heading into Tuesday: They’ve won the second game in each of their first four series, defeating the Reds, Marlins, Brewers and Pirates by the combined tally of 23-2. Also, St. Louis remains in a virtual tie with the Brewers for first place in the NL Central.
On the Mound: Hicks made his first career big-league start Friday in Miami and needed 46 pitches to get through three innings. The flame-throwing righty yielded just one run on two hits and three walks but was saddled with the 5-0 loss. Hicks, who routinely touches 100 mph (and beyond) with his fastball, had pitched exclusively out of the bullpen since joining St. Louis in 2018. Five of his 114 relief appearances have come against the Mets, against whom he’s posted a 1.69 ERA (one run, three hits, two walks in 5.1 innings).
Key injuries: The Cardinals have no new injuries to report.
Notable Trends
- NYM is on runs of 6-1 vs. right-handed SPs and 25-10 as a favorite
- NYM snapped an 0-7 slump vs. the NL Central with Monday’s win
- STL is still on positive runs of 11-5 at home, 13-5 as an underdog and 22-8 vs. right-handed SPs
- Under is 17-8-2 in NYM’s last 27 road games
- Under for STL is on runs of 6-1 overall, 3-1-1 at home and 5-1 vs. right-handed SPs
- Over is 20-8-3 in the last 31 series meetings
- Over is 7-1-2 in the last 10 Mets-Cardinals battles in STL
New York Mets vs St. Louis Cardinals Odds and Action
UPDATE 6:25 P.M. ET TUESDAY: The Mets were installed as a slim -110 favorite at WynnBet late Monday night, with the Cardinals at +100. New York moved out to -114 this morning and has since toggled between -112 and -118. Shortly after noon ET, WynnBet moved to Mets -121/Cardinals +111, and the line remains there now on betting splits of 67% wagers/80% cash on New York.
The total opened 7.5/Under -125 late Monday and quickly moved down to 7/Over -115 before settling at 7/Under -115 at 9 a.m. ET. That’s where the number remains, with most of the action on the Under to the tune of 61% bets/79% money.
UPDATE 10:30 A.M. ET TUESDAY: FanDuel opened this game a pick ’em at -108 both ways at 8:30 p.m. ET Monday, then shifted to Mets -112/Cardinals -104 three hours later. Overnight, the line flipped to Cardinals -110/Mets -106, then back to -108 pick ’em. Early this morning, the Mets were once again a -112 favorite, with the number then rising to -118 and dropping to the current price of -116 within a 20-minute span three hours ago. The total opened and remains at 7. There have been multiple juice adjustments, ranging from Over -115 to Under -128 to the current price of 7/Under -112.
Check back prior to first pitch for additional Mets vs Cardinals odds and action updates.