The St. Louis Cardinals are in the midst of a three-game losing streak, struggling to find much momentum as of late in recent weeks. Tonight’s a chance to get back on the right foot as they face off against the Los Angeles Angels, who have the worst record in the American League. Game two of this series is set for 9:40 p.m. ET on Tuesday night.
Let’s dive in with a preview, prediction and pick for tonight’s Cardinals vs. Angels game, courtesy of odds and lines on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Cardinals vs. Angels prediction, preview
Last night, the Angels took the first game of this series with a final score of 3-2. It was hardly a particularly exciting game for offense, with just 10 combined hits, six of which came from Los Angeles. In the end, it was a two-run homer from Jo Adell that ended up winning things in the bottom of the ninth with a walk-off shot, so fans in attendance could hardly complain.
With the win, the Angels moved to 40-61, but still sit last place in the American League with a run differential of -61 as well. It is worth noting they’re 23-37 at home though. As for St. Louis, the outcome extended the losing streak to three games as the club fell to 51-48 with a run differential of just +3. However, the Redbirds are currently in an NL Wild Card spot.
The Cardinals send LHP Matthew Liberatore to the bump with a 5-6 record in his 19 starts this year. He brings a 5.00 ER with a 1.48 WHIP, hardly great numbers, but does have 88 strikeouts across his 93.2 IP. He allows plenty of hard-hit balls and barrels with high average exit velocity, so it’s not surprising to see the ERA where it is. St. Louis’ bullpen ranks 19th in ERA with a 4.28 mark, a 1.36 WHIP and a 9.6% K-BB%.
The Angels’ young standout Walbert Urena gets the start tonight for the home side. The 22-year-old RHP has a 5-7 record himself over 17 games with 15 starts, but a 2.88 ERA looks good alongside a 1.32 WHIP and 78 punchouts in 81.1 IP. What’s even better are the Sabermetrics, with the young arm delivering elite velocity while limiting average exit velo, keeping barrels down, and forcing lots of ground balls. A 13.0% BB% is the only real concern. The bullpen backing him falls 24th in ERA at 4.53 though, with a 1.40 WHIP and a 12.8% K-BB%.
As for offense, well, don’t get too excited about either lineup. The Cardinals are 23rd in OPS at .705 while the Angels are 24th at .702. Likewise, they’re 26th (.145) and 23rd (.149) in ISO, respectively, ranking 20th (111) and 21st (109) in home runs. It’s probably not a huge night for power or an offensive explosion.
Cardinals vs. Angels pick, best bet
DraftKings Sportsbook lists the Cardinals as extremely slight -111 Moneyline favorites on the road tonight with the Angels at -109 odds. The run total sits at nine combined runs.
Look, I realize that the performance of Liberatore hasn’t been great this year. However, I do think he hods it together tonight. In his last three starts, he’s gone at least five innings in each with no more than four hits allowed and no homers conceded either. Sure, he’s walked seven hitters in those 16.0 innings, but he’s also struck out 18 of them as well. Over that span, he’s allowed just four earned runs with totals of one, three and zero in said outings. He’s pitching rather well right now and the Angels don’t have an abundance of talent. Urena has also been great at limiting damage, and the Cardinals are 20th in BB% at 8.6% to begin with, so they may not capitalize on his control issues as much as some other clubs. After five combined runs last night, I’m very comfortable with the under in this spot.
