St Louis Cardinals vs Washington Nationals MLB Odds, Betting Preview 9/4/18

The National League Central meets the National League East this evening as the St Louis Cardinal grapple with the Washington Nationals. This contest will take place at Nationals Park and is game two of a three-game series. The Nats took game one of this series, but the Cards still lead the season series 3-2.

Lines:  St Louis -110… Washington +100… Over/Under 9

Pitching Matchup

Taking the hill for the Cardinals will be Miles Mikolas and he has gone 13-4 with a 2.96 ERA in 27 starts on the year, including 7-0 with a 3.72 ERA in 13 starts on the year. In his career, he has gone 15-9 with a 3.85 ERA in 37 games as a starter and 9-2 with a 3.46 ERA in 32 games (19 starts) on the road. Mikolas is 0-1 with a 7.26 ERA in two games (one start) against the Nationals.

Getting the nod for the Nationals will be Erick Fedde and he has gone 1-3 with a 5.79 ERA in six starts on the year, including 0-3 with a 4.50 ERA in four starts here at home. In his career, he has gone 0-4 with a 6.75 ERA in six starts here at Nationals Park and 0-0 with a 7.15 ERA in two starts during Sept/ Oct. This will be his first meeting with the Cards.

A Look At The Cardinals

The Cards really blew one late against the Nationals on Monday night. They had a 4-2 lead heading to the bottom of the 9th, but the Nats scored off of Bud Norris to tie it and then won it in the bottom of the 10th. The Cards have now lost their last three games in a row, but they still hold down the 2nd wildcard slot in the National League. Their lead is just one game over the Dodgers, two games over the Diamondbacks and 3.5 games over the Phillies. They still have plenty of work to do and hope that they can get back on track in this one.

Yairo Munoz led the attack in the loss as he had three hits and an RBI, while Paul Dejong had a hit and two RBIs. on of Munoz’ hits was his 7th of homer of the year. Jack Flaherty had a good start as he allowed just one ER on three hits and five walks in 5.0 inning s of work. He got a no-decision, while Chasen Shreve, who is now 1-1 with a 2.79 ERA on the year. The Cards have been a good road team as they have gone 39-32 on the road and they have averaged 4.94 rpg and have allowed 4.10 rpg in those games.   

A Look At The Nationals

The Nationals may not be dead yet The Phillies and Braves are both struggling and the Nats come in having won five of their last eight games. They are still seven games out of a wildcard spot and 7.5 games out of first in the NL East, but they are playing well and still have a shot. They really grabbed a huge win against the Cards on Monday as they came from behind with two runs in the bottom of the 9th and then won it in the bottom of the 10th. Harper tied the game in the bottom of the 9th on a two-run home, which was his 31st of the year. He then had a sacrifice fly to win the game in the bottom of the 10th.  He has not had a great year overall, but he is still one of the most dangerous hitters in the league.

Max Scherzer is still the frontrunner for the Cy Young award and he had a good start against the Cards as he allowed three ERs on four hits and a walk while striking out 11 in 7.0 innings of work. He took a no-decision n the game and is 16-6 with a 2.28 ERA on the year while leading the league in strikeouts with 260. Grabbing the win was Greg Holland, who is 2-2 with a 5.59 ERA on the year. They are at a big disadvantage on the mound in this one and that could hurt their chances up picking up more ground on the Braves. The Nats are 35-33 here at home and have averaged 4.84 rpg and have allowed 4.41 rpg in those games.