The Cardinals and Braves are locked into the two tightest divisional races in the league. Essentially every game from here on is crucial for these teams. Saturday’s matchup was exciting as the Cardinals were able to come from behind and walk it off (literally, a game-winning walk) to set up the rubber match on Sunday Night Baseball. Let’s run through the odds to formulate our Braves vs. Cardinals predictions for this primetime draw.
Braves vs. Cardinals Predictions
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The Cardinals’ Hot Offense
The Cardinals have surged in August and went from second place to holding a lead in the National League Central. Big credit to the offense that has been spectacular this month as they come into tonight leading the league in AVG (.293), OBP (.370), SLG (.510), and OPS (.880).
Paul Goldschmidt continues his impressive season as he’s the heavy favorite to win the National League MVP by leading the entire league with a .338 average, leads the NL with 105 RBI, along with 35 home runs, but the big story lately has been the resurgence of Albert Pujols.
The Cardinal great is on his exit tour, and with 693 career home runs, there is a real possibility he gets into that exclusive 700 club to which only Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, and Barry Bonds belong. He’s been scorching lately as he comes on batting .455 with six home runs in his last 11 games.
Albert Pujols at the All Star break:
.215/.301/.376 (.676 OPS) 6 HRsAlbert Pujols in the 2nd half:
.438/.491/.938 (1.428 OPS) 7 HRs !!!!The Man has an OPS of .858 on the season
YOU CANT STOP THE MACHINE pic.twitter.com/hMu8ZtEOFQ
— Starting 9 (@Starting9) August 21, 2022
Many also believe this will be Adam Wainwright’s final season, and he continues to add to his Hall of Fame resume. He’s had a couple of rough starts recently, including a seven-run outing against the Reds and six runs against the Yankees, but other than that, he’s allowed two or fewer runs in his last seven starts.
The Braves Offense Is Shining
The World Champions are looking for a repeat and have made the case over the last couple of months. St. Louis is the hottest offensive team in baseball, but the Braves are not far behind.
Austin Riley is having another fanatic season, and he’s seeing the same power numbers from last year as he’s just two home runs shy from tying last season’s 33, and those 31 dingers are fourth in the league, and he’s eighth in SLG (.551). They are ready to create a dynasty as they recently locked up some of the core players, including Michael Harris, Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies, Ronald Acuña Jr., and Riley through 2025.
Austin Riley doing Austin Riley things 💪#ForTheA | @austinriley1308 pic.twitter.com/F6MeLG5yCG
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) August 28, 2022
Jake Odorizzi Trying To Turn It Around
The Braves traded for Jake Odorizzi to try and bolster the rotation. He hasn’t been too effective, going 1-2 with a 4.58 ERA in four starts. He finally got his first win as a Brave last week, going six innings while allowing one earned and striking out seven. That was a favorable matchup against the Pirates, one of the worst offenses in the league. It won’t be easy to go from facing a bottom-tier lineup to one of the best.
Braves vs. Cardinals Predictions
We’ve seen a couple of high-scoring games in this series, with 26 runs in the first two games. Odorizzi has not been able to keep a good offensive team in check throughout the season and even more so with the Braves, and we’ve while we’ve seen Wainwright have some excellent outings, he’s also been shelved recently.
This could be a close game as it has a chance to be a future playoff series, but I’m riding with the offense again tonight.
The Pick: Over 7.5 | -120 at DraftKings Sportsbook
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