From Busch Stadium in St. Louis, the Nationals and Cardinals square off in an NL matchup. This one gets started at 2:15 PM ET and is being televised on BSMW. The money line odds have the Cardinals at -153, while the Nationals are the slight underdog at +129. The over/under line is sitting at 8.5 runs.
Washington comes in with a record of 49-56 and is 4th in the NL East, while the Cardinals are 2nd in the NL Central with a record of 53-51. DJ Herz is starting for the Nationals, and the Cardinals are sending Miles Mikolas to the mound.
Washington vs. St. Louis Matchup At A Glance
- Teams: Nationals at Cardinals
- Where: Busch Stadium St. Louis
- Date: Sunday, July 28th
- Betting Odds STL -153 | WSH +129 O/U 8.5
Nationals vs Cardinals Last Game Recap
It was all Washington in the last game of this series, as the Nationals took down the Cardinals by a score of 14-3. The Nationals offense only had one more hit than the Cardinals and struck out five times as much, but still picked up a convincing win. Heading into the game, they were at +131 on the money line.
This game featured a starting pitching matchup between Jake Irvin for the Nationals and Kyle Gibson for the Cardinals. Irvin only went 5 1/3 innings but gave up just two hits and two earned runs. On the other side, Gibson was tagged for two homers and six runs in five innings of work.
Washington's two homers came from Keibert Ruiz and Juan Yepez. Ruiz, James Wood, and Harold Ramirez each had three RBIs for the Nationals' offense.
Nationals Preview
Washington is the underdog in today's game against the Cardinals, and their overall series record this season is 13-18-2. The Nationals have a chance to win the series with a victory today, as they have won two straight games. This season, they are 59-46 against the run line, including a 32-23 mark on the road.
For the season, the Nationals' games have averaged 8.8 runs, and their over/under record is 51-50. When the over/under line is set at 8.5 runs, their record is 16-16. Washington's overall record this season is 49-56, and they are 16.5 games behind the Phillies in the NL East.
Washington is sending DJ Herz to the mound today vs. the Cardinals, and he will be looking to bounce back from a rough outing vs. the Padres. In that start, he took the loss, going five innings and giving up two earned runs on five hits. Looking back further, Herz has made eight starts and has a record of 1-4 with a 4.95 ERA. Opponents are batting .263 off Herz this season. The right-hander has made one quality start this year and is averaging 11.15 strikeouts per nine innings. Herz's ERA at home is 4.44 compared to 9.08 on the road.
Washington's offense is 18th in the league in runs per game at 4.3. This season, they are batting .239, which is 12th in the league. The Nationals have the worst home run total in the league and are also near the bottom of the league in terms of slugging percentage and OPS.
CJ Abrams and Luis Garcia Jr. are the Nationals' top home run hitters this season, and they are also the team's top two hitters in terms of RBIs. Abrams has gone deep 15 times, and Garcia Jr. has 11 homers. Abrams is batting .259 for the season, and Garcia Jr. is hitting .280. Juan Yepez has been swinging a hot bat of late, going 12/32 in his last eight games.
Cardinals Preview
St. Louis is looking to avoid a sweep today after losing the first two games of the series against the Nationals. The Cardinals are 53-51 overall, sitting 2nd in the NL Central, six games behind the Brewers.
When the Cardinals win, they win big, with an average run margin of 2.6 runs, but when they lose, they lose by an average of 3.6 runs. Against the run line, they are 33-17 as underdogs but 19-35 as favorites. The over has hit in 23 games with higher lines than today's 8.5, and their season run average is 8.7 runs per game.
Right-hander Miles Mikolas is starting for the Cardinals today vs. the Nationals and comes into the game with a record of 8-8 and an ERA of 5.02. This year, he has made 21 starts, and opponents are batting .272 off him. In his 21 appearances, Mikolas has turned in 12 quality starts and is averaging 6.08 strikeouts per nine innings. Mikolas' last outing came vs. the Braves, where he gave up two earned runs in six innings of work. He got the win in that outing. Before that, he had given up at least two earned runs in three straight starts.
Right now, the Cardinals are averaging 4.1 runs per game, which is 23rd in the league. They have been slightly better at home, averaging 4.2 runs per game. As a team, they are batting .245, which is 9th in the league, and have the 17th most home runs in the MLB. So far, they have been a pretty average team in terms of on-base percentage, slugging, and OPS.
Over his last eight games, Nolan Arenado has three home runs but is just 5/28 (.179). For the season, Arenado is batting .265 with 9 homers. Alec Burleson has been the team's best power threat, with 18 homers (2nd on the team) and a league-leading 60 RBIs. He is also batting .287. Second baseman Nolan Gorman has 19 homers but is batting just .204.
Nationals vs. Cardinals Prediction: Cardinals ML -153
Our prediction for today's Nationals vs. Cardinals game is that the Cardinals will come out on top by a final score of 6-5. With the money line payout for a Cardinals win sitting at -153, this is the route we recommend going.
Looking at the starting pitchers, Miles Mikolas has the second-best chances of picking up a win today, and we have him finishing with six strikeouts. As for Nationals starter DJ Herz, we have him finishing with six K's and going five innings.
