In the later window of MLB’s Labor Day slate, the St. Louis Cardinals will face off with the San Francisco Giants.
This will be the first matchup of the three-game series and the first meeting of the season between the two teams. They will also meet again starting on Sunday for another three-game set.
Looking at the odds for Monday’s matchup, the Giants enter as narrow -131 moneyline favorites with +162 odds of covering the -1.5 run line on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Cardinals are +109 underdogs, with the game total set at O/U 7.5 runs.
Cardinals vs. Giants Preview
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals hold a 72-72 record on the season, which slots them in third place in the National League Central. They are currently four games back from the final Wild Card spot. St. Louis enters this matchup having won back-to-back series against the Rockies and Dodgers, and has taken six of their past 10 games. On the season, the Cardinals have gone 79-65 to the run line, and the run total is 64-72-8 to the over/under.
Michael McGreevy will be taking the mound for the Cardinals on Monday, marking his 28th start of the season. The 26-year-old enters with a 6-9 record, a 3.97 ERA, a 1.26 WHIP, and 102 strikeouts while allowing 20 home runs. McGreevy has struggled a bit of late, with three or more earned runs allowed in three consecutive starts and a 6.86 ERA across his past eight outings. He has faced this Giants lineup in 13 at-bats in his career, allowing five hits and recording three strikeouts in the limited sample size.
At the plate, the Cardinals are slashing a collective .244/.317/.387 with a .704 OPS. St. Louis ranks 14th in the league in hits, 10th in runs, 21st in home runs, and has limited strikeouts at the sixth-best rate. Jordan Walker headlines the production with 156 hits, 28 home runs, and 100 RBIs on the season. Alec Burleson adds 155 hits of his own, along with 34 doubles, 21 home runs and 103 RBIs. Ivan Herrera contributes 136 hits of his own, along with 16 home runs and 64 RBIs, while Nathan Church and Jose Fermin also play key roles.
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are 59-85 and have been officially eliminated from postseason contention. They have dropped three of their past four games and lost consecutive series against the Mets and Pirates entering this matchup. On the season, the Giants have gone 74-70 to the run line, and the run total is 67-65-12 to the over/under.
Logan Webb will be on the mound for San Francisco, marking his 26th start of the season. The three-time All-Star enters with an 8-8 record, a 4.21 ERA, a 1.16 WHIP, 119 strikeouts, and 11 home runs allowed across 149.2 innings. Webb is coming off his worst start of the season, coughing up nine runs in just two innings of work against the Pirates. He has faced this Cardinals team in 35 at-bats and allowed nine hits and 11 strikeouts in these opportunities.
Looking at the production at the plate for the Giants, they are slashing a collective .248/.308/.407 with a .716 OPS. San Francisco ranks eighth in the league in hits, 23rd in total runs, 16th in home runs, and has tallied the ninth-fewest strikeouts. Rafael Devers leads the team with 140 hits, 34 doubles, 35 home runs, and 91 RBIs. Jung Hoo Lee adds 139 hits, nine home runs, and 53 RBIs, while Bryce Eldridge and Drew Gilbert also play key roles.
Cardinals vs. Giants Pick, Best Bet
The Giants have little to play for at this stage of the season, but they have their ace on the mound in Logan Webb. This game means far more for the Cardinals, and they have been playing solid baseball lately. St. Louis has some work to do if they are to make up ground in the Wild Card race, and the window to do so is getting slim.
But I am backing the bats to come alive for both teams and for the 7.5 run total to be too low. Webb has been solid, but his latest outing was concerning, to say the least. He also got tagged for five earned runs in just 2.2 frames against the Red Sox on August 21. Webb is posting a 5.92 ERA across his past 11 starts.
On the other side of the matchup, Michael McGreevy has also struggled of late. He’s conceded 11 earned runs in his last 10 innings of work and has a 6.86 ERA across his past eight starts. McGreevy also has a poor track record against this Giants team, allowing five hits in 13 at-bats across his limited chances. The right-hander has not done a very good job out of the gate in recent matchups, allowing at least one run in the first inning in 10 of his last 11 starts.
There has also been at least one run scored in the first inning in 10 straight Giants’ night games. Rafael Devers has been on a tear of late, with a 1.255 OPS and 11 home runs across his past 21 games. Devers’ outburst has made a major impact on the offensive outlook for this Giants team, and he’s 3-for-5 with a pair of home runs in his career against McGreevy. San Francisco has scored six or more runs in five of their last eight games, with a high of 12 on September 1.
Expect the bats to come alive on both sides, and for the vulnerable pitching matchup to pave the way for plenty of runs. Additionally, St. Louis and San Francisco both rank in the bottom 11 in collective bullpen ERA at 4.56 and 4.32 respectively. Ten of the last 11 Cardinals’ road games have gone over the total, a trend that should continue on Labor Day.
Best bet: Game Total Over 7.5 (-117)
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