St. Louis Cardinals Vs. Atlanta Braves (7/4/22) Starting Lineup, Betting Odds, Prediction

The Cardinals are led by rookie skipper Oliver Marmol and are +180 to win the National League Central and +3500 to win the 2022 World Series; they last won the World Series in 2011.  St. Louis is currently 44-37: second place in the Central Division; they have an 86.8% chance of making the 2022 playoffs. 

The Atlanta Braves are the defending World Series champions and are +1000 to repeat as world champions.  The Braves are 46-34, second place in the National League East.  They’re +175 to win the division title and have an 86.2% chance of making the 2022 postseason. 

St. Louis Cardinals Vs. Atlanta Braves Betting Odds

Under is 4-1 in St. Louis’ last five game overall.  The Cardinals 4-9 in their last 13 vs. a team with a winning record.  Over is 10-4 in the Cardinals last 14 road games vs. a right-handed starter.  St. Louis is 36-15 in their last 51 Monday games.  Over is 14-5 in the last 19 meetings between the Cardinals and Braves in Atlanta.  Under is 4-1 in the Braves last five home games.  Atlanta is 11-3 in their last 14 home games.  Under is 5-2 in the Braves last seven contests vs. National League Central opponents.  Atlanta is 7-3 in their last 10 vs. National League Central foes.

St. Louis Cardinals Starting Lineup

SS T. Edman S
LF B. Donovan L
1B P. Goldschmidt R
3B N. Arenado R
2B N. Gorman L
DH J. Yepez R
CF D. Carlson S
RF L. Nootbaar L
C A. Knizner R

St. Louis Cardinals Vs. Kyle Wright (R)

Paul Goldschmidt is a lifetime hitter of .295, the first baseman currently leads the National League in batting average at .341.  He’s second in the NL in runs batted in with 65 and has smacked 19 home runs in 2022.  Goldschmidt has a big league leading 183 total bases with a .625 slugging percentage and an OPS of 1.047; both second in the majors this season; he currently is the favorite to win the National League MVP at -115. 

Third baseman Nolan Arenado is in hitting .290 this season 20 doubles, a triple, 17 home runs, 55 runs batted in (ninth in the majors) with 158 total bases.  He has an OPS of .891 with a .539 slugging percentage for the Cardinals in 2022.  Second baseman Tommy Edman is hitting .270 with 12 doubles, three triples, seven home runs with 123 total bases this year.   He’s also driven in 32 runs and scored 58 runs for St. Louis in 2022.  Additionally, Edman has .340 on-base percentage, 19 stolen bases and a .395 slugging percentage. 

Kyle Wright is 9-4 in 15 starts with a 3.03 ERA in 2022.  He’s struck out 96 batters in 92 innings while allowing 31 runs with a 1.141 WHIP this season.

Atlanta Braves Starting Lineup

RF R. Acuna R
SS D. Swanson R
3B A. Riley R
1B M. Olson L
C T. d’Arnaud R
DH M. Ozuna R
LF A. Duvall R
2B O. Arcia R
CF M. Harris L

Atlanta Braves Vs. Dakota Hudson (R)

First baseman Matt Olson hit .271 while smashing 39 home runs and driving in 111 runs for the Oakland Athletics in 2021.  This season he’s hitting .248 with 31 doubles, 12 home runs, 43 runs batted in and 143 total bases.  The Atlanta native is slugging .467 with an OPS of .810 in 2022. 

Last season, Austin Riley hit .303 with 33 homers, 107 runs batted in while slugging .531.  In 2022, the third baseman is hitting .266 with 20 home runs, 48 runs batted in and 161 total bases, which leads Atlanta in all three categories.  Riley is slugging .530 and has an OPS of .866 this season.  Georgia native and fan favorite Dansby Swanson, has been fantastic this season, hitting .301, which leads the Braves with 14 home runs, 46 runs driven in, 151 total bases and an OPS of .860.

Marcell Ozuna has hit nine doubles, 16 home runs, driven in 34 runs with an OPS of .701 this season.  He has 124 total bases with a .420 slugging percentage in 2022.  Adam Duvall has hit 13 doubles, a triple, 10 home runs, driven in 32 runs with 99 total bases this year. 

Dakota Hudson is 6-4 in 15 starts with a 3.03 ERA in 2022.  He’s struck out 44 batters in 80 innings while allowing 34 runs with a 1.350 WHIP this season.

St. Louis Cardinals Vs. Atlanta Braves Picks & Prediction

The Cardinals are 1-4 in their last five during game one of a series.  St. Louis is scoring 4.81 runs per game, fifth in the majors.  The Cardinals are hitting .253 as a team, sixth in MLB with an OPS of .729 which is 10^th in the big leagues.  St. Louis’s pitching staff is allowing 3.99 runs per nine innings, eighth in the majors with opponents hitting .244, 19^th in the league.  Under is 4-1 in the Cardinals last five vs. National League East foes.

 The Braves are 7-2 in their last nine during game one of a series.  Atlanta is scoring 4.76 runs per game, ninth in the majors.  The Braves are hitting .248 as a team, 12^th in MLB with an OPS of .755 which is third in the big leagues.  Atlanta’s pitching staff is allowing 4.15 runs per nine innings, 11^th in the majors with opponents hitting .232, sixth in the league.   Under is 5-2 in the Braves last seven home games vs. a right-handed starter. 

I’ll go with the home team Atlanta Braves, who have gone 23-7 in their last 30 games, in this matchup of second place clubs.  As the Braves win their 25^th game at Truist Park this season, covering the 1.5 run spread as the teams score under 9.5 runs combined.