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The worst team in baseball thus far without question has been the 0-7 Miami Marlins, and they are solid underdogs on the MLB odds in St. Louis on Thursday afternoon as the Cardinals play their home opener

MLB Expert Analysis Miami vs St. Louis | MyBookie Sportsbook MLB Week 1 2024 Season

How to Bet Marlins at Cardinals MLB Odds & TV Info

When: Thursday, 4:15 PM ET
Where: Busch Stadium
Probable pitchers (away/home): Ryan Weathers/Lance Lynn
TV: MLB Extra Innings
Stream/gameday audio: https://www.mlb.com/live-stream-games/
Opening MLB Lines: Cardinals -145, Marlins +125 (total 5)

Why Bet on Miami Marlins?

I’m supposed to give you a reason to bet the Marlins and I’m not sure I can do that right now with the team off to an embarrassing 0-7 start – getting swept at home four games last week by Pittsburgh, which is better than expected, and then three this week by the Angels – who are not a good team at all yet won each game by multiple runs, capped by a 10-2 rout on Wednesday.

During the first winless homestand of at least seven games in franchise history, the Marlins trailed at the end of 36 of 67 innings (54 percent). When the Marlins held a rare lead, they lost it, on Opening Day, Sunday and Monday. Over those latter two games early this week, the Marlins were the fourth team since 1974 to take at least a four-run lead in the first inning of consecutive games only to drop both.

The Marlins are the first team ever to make the postseason one year and start 0-7 the next. Previously, the longest winless streak to start the year in franchise history was four (1995 and 2001), so they are on the verge of doubling that. The MLB record for the longest losing streak to start a season is 21 (1988 Orioles) and the longest in the NL is 14 (1997 Cubs).

“The season feels long already in that clubhouse because it’s seven games and no wins,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “It is really early, however, these games do count. We’ve got to figure it out if we want to get where we want to get to.”

Jazz Chisholm Jr. went 0-for-3 with a strikeout in Wednesday’s loss as Chisholm and the rest of Miami’s lineup managed just four hits. The 26-year-old Chisolm is an electric player when right but is batting an ice-cold .130 (3-for-23) with one homer and five RBI.

Miami turns to lefty Ryan Weathers (0-1, 6.75 ERA) on Thursday. He allowed three runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out five over four innings to take the loss to the Pirates on Saturday. Weathers threw 94 pitches in total and looked nothing like the guy this spring who had a 3.00 ERA and 21:4 K:BB over 18 innings. However, last year Weathers was horrific, going 1-8 with a 6.55 ERA (42 ER/57.2 IP) in 12 MLB starts (15 appearances) split with San Diego and Miami. He was 0-2 with a 7.62 ERA (11 ER/13.0 IP) in 2 starts (3 appearances) with the Marlins.

As this is the Marlins’ first road game of the year, they finished the 2023 campaign with a 38-43 record on the road, and went 3-3 on the final road trip of the regular season that saw the Marlins clinch a postseason spot at Pittsburgh on Sept. 30, 2023. Miami is 86-132 all-time vs. St. Louis and 21-32 at the new Busch Stadium.

Bet Marlins to Win
MLB Daily Lines

Why Bet on St. Louis Cardinals?

The Cardinals had a very tough road trip to the Dodgers and Padres to open the season, so a 3-4 record isn’t half-bad. Two regulars were out of the starting lineup in Wednesday’s defeat in San Diego in outfielder Alec Burleson and NL Rookie of the Year candidate and shortstop Masyn Winn.

Burleson still will play mostly everyday for the early part of the season until the Cardinals get two of Lars Nootbaar (rib), Dylan Carlson (shoulder) and Tommy Edman (wrist) back from the injured list. Winn is 5-for-16 with one RBI and one stolen base in his first five games this season.

Also Wednesday, second baseman Brendan Donovan was forced to leave when he took a 95-mph sinker off his elbow during the top of the eighth inning. He remained in the game to run the bases but was replaced at second base by Mike Siani before the bottom half of the frame. Donovan may need Thursday off. He’s hitting .292 with a homer and six RBIs.

Right-hander Lance Lynn (0-0, 0.00) takes the hill Thursday. This is his second stint with the team as he was signed to a one-year, $10 million free-agent deal last November with a club option. The 36-year-old was drafted by the Cardinals and spent his first six major-league seasons in St. Louis. Lynn finished the 2023 season with a 5.73 ERA over 32 starts with the White Sox and Dodgers and yielded a whopping 44 home runs, but he also had a 191:67 K:BB over 183.2 frames.

Lynn made his Cardinals re-debut last Saturday and didn’t factor into the decision in an extra-inning win over the Dodgers, finishing with five strikeouts while allowing four hits and one walk over four scoreless frames. Lynn looked like he could be in for a long night when Los Angeles began the game by lacing three straight singles off him, but the veteran bounced back by striking out Will Smith, Max Muncy and Teoscar Hernandez to escape the jam.

The Dodgers put two more runners on base with one out in the second frame, but Lynn again got outs under pressure to emerge unscathed. The right-hander retired the final eight batters he faced but had his momentum stopped by a rain delay, and he didn’t return to the mound after the interruption, having already thrown 70 pitches.

Lynn makes his 11th career appearance and ninth start against the Marlins and is riding a three-game losing skid against them in his last three starts (July 4, 2017-present). Lynn’s only career save has come against the Marlins, pitching a scoreless 9th inning of a 3-2 win in Miami on Aug. 5, 2011. Overall, Lynn is 4-3 with a 5.48 ERA in 46.0 innings vs. Miami.

Thursday will mark the first time the Cardinals have hosted the Marlins in St. Louis for a home opener and represents the final National League franchise to visit Busch Stadium for the club’s home openers.

Bet Cardinals to Win
MLB Daily Lines

Cardinals vs. Marlins Expert Prediction

Cardinals 5, Marlins 3

MLB Conferences Winners

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