The St. Louis Cardinals (28-29) travel to face off against the Houston Astros (26-34) on Monday, June 3rd. This game will be played at Minute Maid Park in Houston and televised on BSMW. The Cardinals are coming off a win in their previous game, while the Astros are looking to get back on track from a loss to the Twins. First pitch is set for 7:10 CT.
Cardinals vs Astros
Heading into their last game vs. the Phillies, the Cardinals closed out the series with a 5-4 win. St. Louis was the +118 underdog on the money line going into this road game. Things started off well for the Cardinals, as they got on the board with two runs in the 1st inning and added another two runs in the 3rd.
Lance Lynn put together a good start for the Cardinals, going four innings and not giving up a run. He also issued just two walks and struck out four Phillies batters. However, the Cardinals had to go to their bullpen early, as Lynn was pulled after just json innings of work.
St. Louis is on the road today, taking on the Astros, and they are seven games behind the Brewers in the NL Central. The Cardinals are 28-29 overall and have gone 5-7 in divisional games this year. St. Louis is coming off losing two of three to the Phillies.
At home, the Cardinals have gone 13-12 this year while going 15-17 on the road. So far, they have been slightly better as the favorite, putting up a mark of 14-13. As the underdog, the Cardinals are 14-16 this year, and their overall series record is 10-9 this year.
When betting the run line on the Cardinals this season, it’s been a mixed bag. They’re 28-29 overall, but they’ve been a better bet on the road (15-17) than at home (13-12). They’ve been a better bet as an underdog (18-12) than as a favorite (10-17). Their average run margin in winning games is +2.5, while it’s -3.8 in their losses.
When the St. Louis Cardinals are on the road, the over/under line has been set at 8 runs for their game against the Houston Astros. The Cardinals’ combined run average is slightly higher at 8.5 runs per game, and their over/under record for the season is 24-30. When the over/under line has been set at 8 runs, their record is 3-6-1. Overall, 56.1% of their games have had over/under lines set higher than 8 runs.
Kyle Gibson Gets The Start For The Cardinals
Right-hander Kyle Gibson is starting for the Cardinals today as he faces the Astros on the road. He has made 11 starts this season and has a record of 4-2 with a 3.60 ERA. Gibson’s WHIP for the season is currently 1.22. In his 11 appearances, he has turned in six quality starts. Looking back at his most recent outing, Gibson picked up the win vs. the Reds, going six innings and giving up one earned run on two hits. He has allowed a total of eight home runs this season. Per nine innings, Gibson is averaging 7.2 strikeouts and 3.46 walks.
Cardinals Offense Breakdown
St. Louis has been one of the worst offensive teams in the league this season, averaging just 3.9 runs per game, which is 26th in the MLB. They have been slightly better at home, putting up 4.1 runs per contest. As a team, the Cardinals are batting .233, which is 13th in the league, and their team on-base percentage of .307 is 14th. Overall, their OPS of .675 is 21st in the league.
Over the past eight games, Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Gorman have both been swinging the bat well, with Goldschmidt going 9/32 (.281) with three homers and Gorman also hitting three homers while going 9/30 (.300). Gorman’s 11 homers this season is 9th in the league, and he is also the Cardinals’ current leader in RBIs. Gorman’s recent surge has helped him move into the top spot in the team’s home run race.
Houston closed out their series vs. the Twins with a 4-3 loss. Heading into the game, the Astros were the heavy favorite at -150. Things started off well for the Astros, as they got on the board with a run in the 2nd inning but gave up the lead right away as the Twins scored in the top of the 2nd.
Hunter Brown put together a good start for the Astros, going six innings and giving up just three runs on five hits. He also issued only one walk and struck out seven Twins batters. However, the Astros couldn’t close things out, and Ryan Pressly took the loss out of the bullpen. The Astros also wasted a big game from Alex Bregman, who homered in the 2nd inning, going 2/4.
Houston will take on the Cardinals at home today with an overall record of 26-34, placing them 3rd in the AL West. They are 7.5 games behind the Mariners for the division lead and have gone 13-11 in AL West matchups. The Astros dropped two of three in their most recent series vs. the Twins.
So far, the Astros have gone just 11-17 on the road compared to 15-17 at home. As the favorite, Houston is 20-27 this year and 6-7 as the underdog. The team’s overall series record is 8-10-1, and they have dropped two straight series.
So far this season, Houston has been a poor bet against the run line, going 24-36 overall. They have been slightly better at home, going 13-19. The Astros have been a favorite in most games, going 17-30 against the run line, while they are 7-6 as an underdog. Their average run margin in winning games is +4.2, while it is -3.4 in losses.
The Astros have played to the under in nine straight games, and the under is 21-36 in their games this season. Their games have averaged 8.8 runs per game, and the over/under line for today’s game is set at 8 runs. The over/under line for their games this season has averaged 9 runs per game, and when the line has been set at 8 runs, their record is 1-3-1. The over has hit in 73.3% of their games this season, with 44 games having an over/under line set higher than 8 runs.
Justin Verlander Gets The Start For The Astros
Justin Verlander has made five straight quality starts and has a record of 3-2 this season. His ERA is 3.25, and he is coming off a start in which he gave up just one earned run in seven innings of work. In that outing, he finished with a no-decision. Looking back over his last four outings, Verlander has given up just one earned run in three of them. The right-hander has allowed a total of eight home runs this season. Per nine innings, he is averaging 8.43 strikeouts and 2.87 walks. At home, his ERA is 5.14 compared to 3.06 on the road.
Astros Offense Breakdown
So far this season, the Astros are averaging 4.3 runs per game, which is 14th in the league. At home, they have been a bit better, averaging 4.8 runs per game. Overall, they are the league’s 4th best home run hitting team and are batting .258, which is the 3rd best mark in the MLB. Houston’s offense has been led by Kyle Tucker, who is 2nd in the league with 19 homers and is also 8th in the league with 40 RBIs.
Yordan Alvarez and Alex Bregman are both on 6-game hitting streaks, with Bregman batting .417 over his last six games with four homers. For the season, Alvarez is batting .282 with 11 homers, and Bregman is hitting .290 with nine homers.
Cardinals vs Astros Prediction
Our prediction for this Astros vs. Cardinals matchup is that the Astros will come out on top by a score of 5-5.1. However, with the Astros being -176 on the money line, we will be looking to the over, as the line is currently sitting at eight runs.
Looking at the starting pitchers, our projections have Justin Verlander finishing with six strikeouts compared to Kyle Gibson with just four. Verlander is also projected to go six innings, while Gibson is projected to go five.
Offensively, we have the Astros finishing with nine hits compared to the Cardinals with nine. However, the Cardinals are projected to finish with just eight as a team, which is ninth in the league today.
Another option could be to look at the Astros’ team home run total, as we have them finishing with five, which is good for fifth in the league today.
All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!
* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.
Last updated:June 3, 2024 Astros, Cardinals