Saturday brings another full day of MLB action as all 30 teams take the field once more. Last night, the Atlanta Braves got themselves back into the win column with a 6-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on the road. Consecutive W’s have been few and far between for Atlanta, but can they string another one together on Saturday afternoon?
Here’s a Cardinals vs. Braves prediction and pick on DraftKings Sportsbook for Saturday’s contest.
Cardinals vs. Braves prediction, preview
The Braves improved to 41-52 with yesterday’s win, an outing in which an injury to a star dampened whatever positive vibes may have been created by the hard-fought result. Third baseman Austin Riley was pulled early and now heads to the 10-day IL with an abdomen injury, so his presence will be sorely missed tonight in a lineup which struggles more often than not to produce runs.
Atlanta tallied 12 hits in total last night with four players logging multiple hits. Notably, Ronald Acuna Jr. and Sean Murphy tallied three knocks apiece, the latter of whom hit two home runs in the effort. It was a glimpse at what this team could be if they can every get the bats clicking all at the same time. They have a chance to do it again against Erick Fedde today, a righty with a 4.79 ERA and 1.47 WHIP this season. The veteran also doesn’t sit batters down at a high rate, mustering just 57 strikeouts across 94.0 innings.
The Cardinals produce runs on a much more consistent basis than their opponents, sitting tied for 10th in scoring and tied for 10th in AVG. Although they fell to 50-45 last night, St. Louis does remain the better team in this matchup. The problem, however, is that they’re just 3-7 across their last 10 games and 2-3 across their last five.
Although they tallied 10 hits last night with three players putting up multi-hit efforts, two of the Cardinals’ stars didn’t quite show up as usual. Masyn Wynn went 0-for-5 on the evening and Brendan Donovan went just 1-for-5 with one run, so a better effort from either of the two might be all the team needs to emerge with a win today. They face Aaron Bummer, a lefty reliever with a 3.38 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 41 punchouts across 37.1 innings.
Cardinals vs. Braves pick, best bet
The odds on DraftKings Sportsbook indicate a relative toss-up with the Cardinals favored at -117 on the Moneyline. The Braves are -103 underdogs on the Moneyline with the run total set at 9.5 in this one.
With Fedde on the mound for the Cardinals, I do think the Braves have a solid shot at keeping their offense firing this afternoon. This is a chance for the team to enter the All-Star break on a positive note and potentially win their first series since Jun 19, and I fully expect Ronald Acuna Jr. to have another big game this afternoon. He’s tallied multiple hits twice in his last three games as he begins to shake off a slump of his own, so I like his chances of doing it against a vulnerable pitcher today at +155 odds.
Best bet: Ronald Acuna Jr. 2+ hits (+155)
Click the odds on this bet to tail!
