The San Diego Padres (76-59) and St. Louis Cardinals (66-67) meet in the final game of a four-game series on Thursday. First pitch at Busch Stadium is scheduled for 2:15 pm ET. Break down Padres vs. Cardinals odds from BetMGM Sportsbook and make your best betting predictions and forecasts from MLB experts.
Season series: 3-3 draw
St. Louis beat San Diego 4-3 on Wednesday as a +105 home underdog. Third baseman Nolan Arenado hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth to send shortstop Machine Winn home.
The loss ended the Padres' three-game winning streak and snapped a two-game losing streak for the Cardinals.
Padres vs Cardinals predicted starting lineup
RHP Michael King vs. RHP Sonny Gray
This will be King's 26th start and 27th appearance as a starter (11-7, 3.14 ERA). He has a 1.18 WHIP, 3.3 BB/9 and 10.7 K/9 in 146 1/3 innings.
Last start: 7-1 home loss to the New York Mets on Saturday, going five innings with one run allowed, three hits, three walks and seven strikeouts. Career stats with St. Louis: 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA (3 1/3 innings, no runs allowed), one hit, no walks and two strikeouts in one relief appearance in a 6-2 road win against the New York Yankees on July 1, 2023.
Gray (11-9, 4.07 ERA) is making his 25th start and has a 1.13 WHIP, 2.3 BB/9 and 11.1 K/9 in 141 2/3 innings.
Last appearance: Saturday's 6-0 loss to the Minnesota Twins, 6 innings, 5 runs allowed on 7 hits, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts. Career record against San Diego: 2-0 in 2 starts, 1.64 ERA (11 innings, 2 runs allowed), 1.18 WHIP, 12.3/9 strikeouts — final appearance of 2022
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Padres vs Cardinals odds
Courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. For the complete list, visit USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds Hub. Lines last updated at 1 a.m. ET.
Money Line (ML): Padres -115 (bet $115 to win $100) | Cardinals -105 (bet $105 to win $100) Run Line (RL)/Against the Spread (ATS): Padres -1.5 (+150) | Cardinals +1.5 (-185) Over/Under (O/U): 8 (O: -105 | U: -115)
Padres vs Cardinals predictions and forecasts
prediction
Padres 3, Cardinals 2
Money Line
Bet on the Padres (-115).
San Diego is 3-1 in their last four games and 6-4 in their last 10 games while the Cardinals are 3-4 in their last seven home games and 5-5 in their last 10 overall.
The Padres are also 3-1 in the past four meetings between these two teams.
Against run line/spread
Passed.
I expect the Cardinals to be covered here as underdogs at +1.5 (-185), but the line is set so heavily in their favor that I wouldn't risk betting on them – bet on the moneyline or O/U instead.
Over/Under
Lean under 8 (-115).
For St. Louis, the under is 7-3 in their last 10 road games and 4-3 in their last 7 home games while the under is 5-3 with 1 draw in their last 9 meetings.
The over is 7-3 in San Diego’s last 10 games, so this is a trend.
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