St. Louis Cardinals vs San Diego Padres

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The best National League series of the weekend starts Friday as the St. Louis Cardinals visit the San Diego Padres – two teams good enough to win the pennant. The Friars are Game 1 favorites on the MLB odds behind Joe Musgrove, who had the franchise’s first no-hitter earlier this year.

How to Bet Cardinals at Padres MLB Odds & TV Info

When: Friday, 10:10 PM ET
Where: Petco Park
Probable pitchers (away/home): Johan Oviedo/Joe Musgrove
TV: MLB Extra Innings

Why Bet on St. Louis? | MLB Betting Lines

Will the Cards have shortstop Paul DeJong for this game? He didn’t play Thursday and made an early exit from Wednesday night’s game due to left side discomfort and was sent for an MRI. DeJong didn’t seem to show any apparent discomfort in action Wednesday, though manager Mike Shildt said that the shortstop felt something grab when he made a tag on Lorenzo Cain, who stole second base in the third inning. It’s also the same area where DeJong was hit by an 88.1 mph changeup by Brewers starter Freddy Peralta in the seventh inning of Tuesday’s win.

Tommy Edman started at shortstop on Thursday, where he’ll play until the club makes a decision on DeJong’s immediate outlook and any necessary roster shifting. DeJong is hitting just .177 (22-for-124) with seven homers through his first 35 games this season.

Three Cardinals rank among the NL’s top-24 in Sprint Speed (feet/second) according to Statcast with Tyler O’Neill (4th, 29.9), Harrison Bader (11th, 29.1) and Tommy Edman (24th, 28.5) leading the way.

With Carlos Martínez on the injured list, Johan Oviedo (0-1) will make his fourth appearance with the Cardinals. Oviedo performed respectably in his three outings (two starts) with St. Louis earlier this season, but he was battered in his most recent appearance at Triple-A Memphis on Sunday, surrendering five earned runs over 2.2 innings.

The 23-year-old holds a 4.61 ERA and 13/4 K/BB ratio in 13 2/3 innings at the major league level this year. He will be making his first career start and appearance against the Padres. His only other appearances facing an opponent outside of the National League Central was vs. the Phillies & Mets this season. The Cardinals think highly of Oviedo. It’s why they tapped him to be their sixth starter when they expanded their rotation at the end of April.

After his most recent start last Saturday, Martínez revealed he had hurt his ankle slipping on the dugout stairs while celebrating Jack Flaherty’s first career home run. That’s what landed Martinez on the injured list and Oviedo his return to the majors. Tuesday marked the fourth time this season that Oviedo had been recalled from either Memphis or the alternate training site.

Why Bet on San Diego? | MLB Betting Lines

The Padres have put three of their best hitters on the COVID list: Star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. and outfielder Wil Myers tested positive so they will be out a while. Utility players Jurickson Profar and Jorge Mateo and first baseman Eric Hosmer also will be sidelined because of contact tracing.

Profar, Mateo and Hosmer must quarantine for seven days, test negative on Day 5 or later and remain asymptomatic throughout. Ha-Seong Kim will play shortstop in Tatis’ absence, and Tommy Pham will get the vast majority of the playing time in left field while Profar and Mateo are out.

The Padres are without four lineup regulars, putting them at a competitive disadvantage. The league has postponed games in cases where it deemed health and safety were jeopardized. In the event that several players on the same team land on the COVID-19-related IL, MLB can extend “outbreak” status, which enables the club to add reinforcements without the need for those players to be placed on waiver. Thankfully, San Diego was off Thursday to recalibrate.

San Diego batters have an 89.5 mph team exit velocity, which ranks 2nd in the National League behind just the Braves‘ 89.9 mph. San Diego pitchers have the 2nd-lowest opponent exit velo in the Majors at 88.0 mph, trailing just the Dodger pitchers’ 87.4 mph.

It’s right-hander Joe Musgrove (2-4, 3.00) here. Musgrove allowed four runs on eight hits over five innings with seven strikeouts in last Saturday’s loss to the Giants. The big blow was a three-run shot off the bat of Brandon Crawford in the second inning.

The right-hander got off to an impressive start to the campaign by allowing just one earned run over his first 19 innings of work, but he has been struggling of late. Musgrove has allowed 10 runs (nine earned) over 10 innings in his past two starts, and the Padres have lost four of his five starts since his no-hitter in Texas.