Braves vs. Cardinals Prediction and Odds for Friday, August 26 (Atlanta Has Key Pitching Advantage)
By Peter Dewey
Don’t look now, but the defending champion Atlanta Braves are getting dangerously close to the top spot in the NL East, and they’ll have their rookie sensation, Spencer Strider on the mound in a huge matchup on Friday.
Strider (7-4, 2.95 ERA) gets the ball against the red-hot St. Louis Cardinals, who have opened up a sizable lead in the NL Central with a strong second half, specifically at the plate.
The Cards also hit the jackpot at the trade deadline by acquiring left-handed starters Jordan Montgomery and Jose Quintana. Quintana (4-5, 3.45 ERA) is on the mound for Friday’s matchup as he looks to lead the Cards to their fifth straight win in his starts since joining the team.
This is arguably the best game of the night, so let’s buckle in, place some bets and enjoy.
Here are the odds from WynnBET:
Braves vs. Cardinals Odds, Run Line and Total
Braves vs. Cardinals Prediction and Pick
Strider has put up a couple clunkers over the last two months, but outside of that he’s been magnificent, posting a 2.87 ERA and 1.91 Fielding Independent Pitching over his last nine starts. The Braves are 6-3 in those games and 9-6 overall since he joined the rotation back in late May.
Quintana has led the Cards to four straight wins, and they’ve covered the run line in all but one of those games. However, as good as St. Louis’ offense has been lately, it can’t expect to tee off on Strider, who pitched six innings of two-hit ball (recording 12 K’s in the process) in his lone start against the Cards this season.
Even though Quintana’s record is squeaky clean in St. Louis, he was chased after just 2.2 innings in his last start against the Arizona Diamondbacks, giving up four runs (two earned) in the process.
These teams are No. 1 (Atlanta) and No. 2 (St. Louis) in runs scored over the last 15 days and No. 1 (St. Louis) and No. 4 (Atlanta) in OPS.
With offense pretty much equal, I lean with the Braves here, as I think Strider gives them the pitching advantage.
Find Peter Dewey’s full betting record here.