At Busch Stadium in St. Louis, the forecast calls for clear skies and temperatures in the mid-60s. Sunday's Mariners vs. Cardinals interleague matchup has a first pitch set for 2:15 PM ET. RSNW will be televising this one, and the Cardinals are the slight home underdogs on the money line (+108).
Seattle is favored on the money line (-127), and they are 72-71 this season, while the Cardinals are 72-70. Luis Castillo is starting for the Mariners, and he is facing off against Miles Mikolas. In the AL West, the Mariners are 2nd, while the Cardinals are 2nd in the NL Central.
Seattle vs. St. Louis Matchup At A Glance
- Teams: Mariners at Cardinals
- Where: Busch Stadium St. Louis
- Date: Sunday, September 8th
- Betting Odds SEA -127 | STL +108 O/U 7.5
Mariners vs Cardinals Last Game Recap
It was all St. Louis in the last game of this series, as the Cardinals took down the Mariners by a score of 2-0. The Cardinals offense only had two more hits than the Mariners and struck out 10 times, but still picked up a win. Heading into the game, they were at +112 on the money line.
This game featured a starting pitching matchup between Kyle Gibson for the Cardinals and Logan Gilbert for the Mariners. Gibson only went 6 2/3 innings but didn't give up a run and finished with nine strikeouts. On the other side, Gilbert was tagged for two homers and two runs in eight innings of work.
St. Louis got on the board in the first inning with a solo home run from Pedro Pages. They didn't score another run until the 8th inning when Nolan Arenado hit a two-run homer. As for the Mariners, they had their chances but stranded 10 runners and went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position.
Mariners Preview
Seattle is 72-71 overall, and they are 5.5 games behind the Astros in the AL West. As the favorite, the Mariners have a 53-45 record, but as the underdog, they are 19-26. Against the run line, they are 60-83 overall, with a 29-40 record at home and 31-43 on the road.
For games with an over/under line of 7.5 runs, Seattle's O/U record is 19-22. Their games have averaged 7.8 runs per game this season, and their overall O/U record is 64-71. Today, they are on the road against the Cardinals, with the over/under line set at 7.5 runs.
Right-hander Luis Castillo gets the start for the Mariners today as he faces the Cardinals on the road. He has made 29 starts this season and has a record of 11-12 with an ERA of 3.60. So far, Castillo has turned in 18 quality starts and is averaging 8.98 strikeouts per nine innings. In his last outing, Castillo finished with a no-decision, giving up two earned runs in seven innings of work. Before that, he had given up at least four earned runs in three straight starts. One issue for Castillo has been the long ball, as he has given up 25 homers this season.
Seattle's offense has been one of the worst in the league this season, averaging just 4 runs per game, which is 26th in the MLB. They have been even worse at home, averaging just 3.7 runs per game. As a team, the Mariners are batting just .218, which is the worst mark in the league. However, they do have four hitters with at least 18 home runs.
Julio Rodriguez has been swinging a hot bat of late, going 13/37 in his last nine games with two homers and seven RBIs. For the season, he is batting .261 with 14 homers. Cal Raleigh has also been swinging a better bat of late, going 9/36 in his last nine games. This has raised his season average to just .213, but he does lead the team with 29 homers and 89 RBIs.
Cardinals Preview
St. Louis has a 72-70 record, putting them 10 games behind the Brewers in the NL Central. They have a 37-33 home record and are 35-37 on the road. The Cardinals have a 23-18-5 series record this season and have won their last two series, entering today's game with a 7-3 record in their last 10 games.
Against the run line, the Cardinals are 71-71 overall and 35-35 at home. Their games have averaged 8.7 runs per game, resulting in a 68-70 over/under record. The over/under line of 7.5 runs for today is the lowest of the season, with 73.9% of their games having higher lines.
Right-hander Miles Mikolas gets the start for the Cardinals today as he faces the Mariners at home. He has made 28 starts this year and has a record of 8-10 with an ERA of 5.27. Mikolas has made 14 quality starts this year and is coming off an outing in which he allowed three earned runs in four innings of work. In that start, he gave up one homer. Mikolas has finished with a no-decision in each of his last three outings. Opponents are batting .279 off Mikolas this year. At home, his ERA is 6.60 compared to 5.14 on the road.
Paul Goldschmidt has been swinging the bat well of late for the Cardinals, going 12/34 (.353) over his last eight games, including one home run and four RBIs. For the season, he is batting just .243. Alec Burleson and Paul Goldschmidt are tied for the team lead with 21 homers, and Burleson's 73 RBIs are also the best on the team. Masyn Winn is batting .273 for the season and has 12 homers.
As a team, the Cardinals are batting .246, which is 9th in the league. However, they are just 24th in the league in scoring at 4.1 runs per game. Overall, their team OPS of .700 is also just 19th in the league. The Cardinals are also just 19th in the league in home runs.
Mariners vs. Cardinals Prediction: Cardinals ML +108
With the Cardinals at +108 on the money line, we see them as a great value pick today. We actually have them winning this one 6-5, so there is also some value on the over, but our top pick is to take the Cardinals to pick up the win.
Looking at the starters, we have Luis Castillo finishing with around eight strikeouts, and on the other side, Miles Mikolas with five. However, we have Mikolas finishing with a higher chance of picking up the win.
