Picks, predictions for Giants vs. Cardinals on Tuesday, June 13

The St. Louis Cardinals’ exasperating slide continued on Monday night, as a late San Francisco Giants rally resulted in the team’s eighth loss in 10 games — and dropped them to 7-16 this year in one-run games. The Redbirds will try to once again get back on track in game two on Tuesday night, with first pitch from Busch Stadium set for 7:45 p.m. ET. San Francisco will send righty Alex Cobb (3-2, 3.01 ERA) to the mound, while St. Louis counters with Jack Flaherty (3-4, 4.15).

This one is just about a pick ‘em on the moneyline at DraftKings Sportsbook, with the Cardinals the narrow favorites at -115. The Giants check in at -105, and the run total is set at 9.

Giants-Cardinals picks: Tuesday, June 13

Injury report

Giants

Out: OF Luis Gonzalez (back), OF Heliot Ramos (oblique)

Cardinals

Out: RP Packy Naughton (forearm), OF Lars Nootbaar (back), OF Tyler O’Neill (back)

Starting pitchers

Alex Cobb vs. Jack Flaherty

Save for one seven-run blow-up at the end of May, Cobb has been outstanding for the Giants this season, allowing more than two runs just four times while making it through at least seven innings in six of his 13 starts. Everything starts with his splitter, which he throws nearly 40 percent of the time and earns bundles of whiffs and ground balls. His feel for it can come and go, but it’s been far more of the former than the latter this year, and the righty’s curveball has taken a big step forward to give him a true third option.

Just a month ago, Flaherty was searching for answers, holding a 6.29 ERA and dodging questions about his diminished fastball velocity after allowing 10 runs in just 2.1 innings to the Los Angeles Angels. The script has fully flipped in the weeks since, as the righty has posted a 2.06 ERA with 36 strikeouts in 35 innings across his last six starts. The fastball is back up around 93-94 mph, and both his slider and curveball remain elite secondary options. As long as he’s spotting his pitches like he has been recently, he’ll look an awful lot like the ace we saw way back in 2019.

Over/Under pick

As you can probably guess based on my thoughts on these two pitchers, I’m riding with the under tonight. Yesterday’s total needed some late-inning scoring just to get to 7, while Flaherty hasn’t allowed more than three runs in over a month. Cobb’s been rock-solid (as long as he’s not dealing with Coors Field) and St. Louis games have cleared this total just four times in their last 16.

Pick: Under 9

Moneyline pick

Generally, in a toss-up I like to go with whatever gives me the slightly better odds, but I’m going with St. Louis on Tuesday night. Flaherty is throwing the ball very, very well right now, while Cobb’s penchant for losing the feel for his splitter always makes him feel less reliable than you’d like. This is still a potent Cardinals offense, and they’re in desperate need of a breakout performance.

Pick: Cardinals