Cardinals vs. Braves Prediction and Odds for Tuesday, July 5 (High-Scoring Affair in Store)

The 44-38 St. Louis Cardinals have dropped four of five as they seek to right the ship against the 47-34 Atlanta Braves Tuesday at 7:20 PM EST.

Atlanta is perhaps MLB's hottest team, going 24-7 since the start of June, and will send Ian Anderson to the mound in this one. Anderson got shelled in his last start, giving up seven runs to Philadelphia in just two innings, and compiled a 6.91 ERA last month as he's struggled mightily.

Andre Pallante gets the nod for St. Louis with back-to-back quality starts. He's steadily improved since coming to the rotation from the bullpen and has yet to surrender more than three runs in an appearance.

Can Pallante get the Cardinals back on track or will the home squad keep it rolling?

To pick a winner in this Cardinals vs Braves matchup, let's first peak at the odds from our friends at WynnBET Sportsbook:

Cardinals vs Braves Odds, Run Line and Total

Run Line:

• Cardinals +1.5 (-170)
• Braves -1.5 (+140)

Moneyline:

• Cardinals: +130
• Braves: -140

Total:

• 9.5 (Over -115/Under -105)

Cardinals vs Braves Prediction and Pick

Ian Anderson has been the lone wart on an otherwise stellar Braves roster, but his underlying metrics suggest better times are ahead for the 24-year-old righty. His expected ERA (4.09) is more than a run lower than his actual ERA (5.31) as batters are hitting .311 on balls in play, which is unlikely to continue.

His command is a legitimate problem though. Anderson walked 14 batters in 28.2 June innings, and his inability to quickly put batters away puts pressure on the Braves' bullpen. St. Louis has the seventh-highest OPS against right-handed pitchers over the last three weeks and will take advantage of Anderson's wayward command.

But Matt Olson and the Braves' lineup are on fire. They lead MLB in OPS over the last month and while Pallante has been excellent, he's in just the 14th percentile in hard hit percentage and could be in for a rude awakening.

Atlanta is 15-2 in their last 17 as home favorites while the Cardinals are 2-11 in their last 13 as road underdogs. Thus, I think the Braves have the edge here. But with Anderson on the mound, I also like the over. It's 8-3-2 in his last 13 starts. With favorable weather conditions in store, we should be in for another high-scoring affair between two powerful lineups.

Pick: Braves (-140) and Over 9.5 (-120)

Follow all of Joe Summers' betting picks here.