Every team comes into the season with some level of expectation placed upon them. For some, the expectations are low, which means that the pressure is off a little. For the MLB Betting favorites prior to the start of the season, expectations are high, and the consequences can be dire if they are not met or exceeded. Those consequences are very often in the form of firing and players being shipped out of town in a hurry.
That may very well be what we see in the nation’s capital this offseason, as the Washington Nationals have once again come up short of expectations. This is a team that had a pretty good window of opportunity over the past few seasons, but who have seen that window close rather dramatically. Their season looks to be over, but that cannot be said for their opponents on Thursday, as the Cardinals are on a positive run of form that has them knocking on the door in the playoff race. The Cardinals will look to keep the good times rolling when they welcome in the Nationals on Thursday.
Despite this solid run of form, the Cardinals are still 4 back of the Cubs in the division, but they have close to within a game of the final Wild Card spot in the NL, right behind another division rival, the Milwaukee Brewers. The WC race in the National League is tight, though, and the Cardinals cannot afford to take their foot off the gas as we head down the stretch. It will be Luke Weaver (6-10, 4.66 ERA) who gets the start.
Nationals vs Cardinals MLB Betting Lines & Preview
#OhBoyBader 😱 Harrison Bader has scored in 7 straight games and has six RBI and three multi-hit efforts in his last six games. And he’s making Gold Glove catches! pic.twitter.com/Rft45poMEz
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) 16 de agosto de 2018
- When: Thursday, August 16 at 7:15 PM EST
- Where: Busch Stadium, St. Louis
- Starting Pitchers: Tanner Roark vs Luke Weaver
- TV: MLB Network
- Radio: TuneIn
- Live Stream: MLB.tv
- MLB Betting Lines: Washington Nationals +115 / St. Louis Cardinals -135 (Total 8.5)
Rays at Yankees MLB Odds & Expert Pick – August 16th
Why bet on the Washington Nationals?
For a while, we were all waiting for the moment when the Nationals would wake up and claim their supposed rightful spot atop the NL East. That moment has never arrived, and it looks like it never will. With time running out on the season, the Nationals are now 10 games back of the division-leading Braves and are coming into this one on a 4-game losing skid. This will be the final game of a 4-game series with the Cards, and as the streak suggests, it has not been a fun time for the Nationals. They have lost all 3 games and have given up 17 runs in the process, which is not great news for a pitching staff that was supposed to be among the best in the league. For the final game in the series, the Nationals will send Tanner Roark (7-12, 4.12 ERA) to the mound.Why bet on the St. Louis Cardinals?
Teams serious about making the playoffs tend to start turning up the heat at this stage of the season, which is exactly what is happening in St. Louis. Their 3-straight wins against the Nationals is not that surprising when you consider that they were already on a 5-game winning streak before they welcomed in Washington.
Despite this solid run of form, the Cardinals are still 4 back of the Cubs in the division, but they have close to within a game of the final Wild Card spot in the NL, right behind another division rival, the Milwaukee Brewers. The WC race in the National League is tight, though, and the Cardinals cannot afford to take their foot off the gas as we head down the stretch. It will be Luke Weaver (6-10, 4.66 ERA) who gets the start.
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Latest MLB Betting Trends
- Washington is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing St. Louis
- Washington is 1-7 SU in its last 8 games on the road
- The total has gone OVER in 8 of Washington’s last 12 games when playing St. Louis
- St. Louis is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games
- St. Louis is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of St. Louis’s last 5 games
