As the MLB season progresses, things start to become a little more stressful for the teams looking at winning a division title or at least getting into a Wild Card spot. Each and every loss seems to become bigger and more damaging with each passing week, especially when the teams ahead of you are picking up wins that allow them to maintain a lead over the chasing pack. Funnily enough, it often becomes the poorer teams in the league that are the toughest to beat.
These are teams that have nothing to play for, but they also have nothing to lose, which means that they come into games loose and relaxed, which can be a nightmare for teams looking to stay in the playoff hunt. The St. Louis Cardinals would be expected to take care of the Miami Marlins at home, but here we are heading into the third game of the series with these two teams splitting the first couple of games. It is the Cardinals who are favored by 1 ½ on Wednesday night, with the run total for this game set at 8 ½.
Marlins vs Cardinals MLB Odds, Game Info & Pick
- When: Wednesday, June 19 at 8:15
- Where: Busch Stadium, St. Louis
- Starting Pitchers: Richards vs. Ponce de Leon
- TV: MLB Extra Innings
- Radio: 92.9 ESPN
- Live Stream: MLB.tv
- MLB Odds: St. Louis Cardinals -190 (Total 8.5)
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Why bet on the Miami Marlins?
The Miami Marlins are still wallowing near the bottom of the standings in terms of overall wins and losses, but they have been a little better over the past few weeks. It is, though, starting to look as though that little bubble might be about to burst, as they are now just 3-7 over their last 10 games.
While the Marlins have not been particularly competitive against a lot of teams in this league, they have given the Cardinals fits, going 2-3 in their 5 meetings with the Cardinals this season. Miami are 26-45 overall this season and are 13-20 SU on the road after their 6-0 win on Tuesday. While not a great bet, the Marlins have been competitive on the road, going 16-17 ATS as a road dog. They will have Trevor Richards (3-7, 3.68 ERA) on the mound for this one.
Team Stats
Offense- Runs: 3.46
- Hits: 8.00
- Walks: 2.46
- Strike Outs: 8.77
- Runs: 4.52
- Hits: 8.13
- Walks: 3.62
- Strike Outs: 8.45
Why bet on the St. Louis Cardinals?
The St. Louis Cardinals have the benefit of playing in a division where no-one seems to be able to take control and build up a lead. While not really lighting it up this season, the Cardinals are still very much hanging around in the race for the NL Central.
The Cardinals are just 2 games above .500 at 37-35, but that has them just 2 ½ games off the lead, with both the Brewers and Cubs faltering right now. St. Louis have gone 6-4 in their last 10 games, which has allowed them to close the gap a little, but these are the series that they need to take advantage of if they are to make a serious run at the top spot. The Cardinals are 21-14 SU at home, but just 13-15 ATS as a home favorite. Daniel Ponce de Leon (0-0, 2.00 ERA) will get the start here.
Team Stats
Offense- Runs: 4.64
- Hits: 8.13
- Walks: 3.49
- Strike Outs: 8.42
- Runs: 4.49
- Hits: 7.96
- Walks: 3.49
- Strike Outs: 8.47
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Marlins vs Cardinals MLB Betting Trends
- Marlins are 5-2 SU in their last 7 games on the road
- The total has gone Under in 4 of Miami’s last 6 games when playing on the road against St. Louis
- Cardinals are 6-3 SU in their last 9 games
- The total has gone Under in 5 of St. Louis’ last 5 games at home
- Marlins are 2-3 against St. Louis this season
- 3 of 4 games in this series have gone Under the Total this season
- Richards is 0-2 when starting against St. Louis with an ERA of 5.06 and a WHIP of 1.218
Expert Pick & Final Score Prediction for Marlins vs Cardinals
The opening two games of this series have not delivered much in the way of offense, which has me leaning towards the UNDER for this one. I also like the Cardinals to win a close one.
Score: Miami Marlins 3 – St. Louis Cardinals 4
