The St. Louis Cardinals (28-30) travel to face off against the Houston Astros (27-34) on Tuesday, June 4th. This game will be played at Minute Maid Park in Houston and televised on None. The Astros are coming off a win in their previous game, while the Cardinals are looking to get back on track from a loss to the Astros. First pitch is set for 7:10 CT.
Cardinals vs Astros
Houston picked up a 7-4 win over the Cardinals in the most recent game of this series. The Astros had a huge 8th inning, scoring four of their seven runs. As for the Cardinals, they scored their final run in the 5th. Heading into the game, the Astros were favored at -188 on the money line.
Justin Verlander got the start for the Astros, going just five innings while giving up four runs and striking out four. Rafael Montero got the win out of the bullpen, and Josh Hader got the save. Kyle Gibson only went 5 2/3 innings for the Cardinals, giving up three earned runs on five hits.
Nolan Gorman hit the game’s only home run while going 2/3 with two RBIs, but it came in a losing effort. Yordan Alvarez did a bit of everything for the Astros, going 2/3 with a homer and two RBIs.
St. Louis is 28-30 overall and trails the Brewers by seven games in the NL Central. The Cardinals are 5-7 in divisional games and lost the first game of this series vs. the Astros. Currently, they lead the Pirates by 1.5 games in the division.
At home, the Cardinals have gone 13-12 this season, and they are 15-18 on the road. So far, they have been the favorite in 27 games, going 14-13. As the underdog, the Cardinals are 14-17 this season, and their overall series record is 10-9.
When it comes to the run line, the Cardinals have been a better bet as the underdog this season, going 18-13, compared to 10-17 when they are the favorite. Their overall run line record is 28-30, and they have been slightly better on the road, going 15-18. Their average run differential in games they win is +2.5, while it drops to -3.8 in losses.
St. Louis is on the road against the Houston Astros, and the over/under line for the game is set at 8.5 runs. The Cardinals have an over/under record of 25-30 on the season, and their games have averaged 8.5 runs per game. When the over/under line is set at 8.5 runs, St. Louis has a record of 14-6. So far this season, 20.7% of their games have had over/under lines set at 8.5 runs or higher.
Andre Pallante Gets The Start For The Cardinals
Right-hander Andre Pallante is getting the start for the Cardinals today as he faces the Astros on the road. He has made one start this year and 10 appearances, finishing with a record of 1-1 and ERA of 3.94. Pallante’s WHIP for the season is 1.56. In his 16 innings of work, he has one quality start and is coming off a game in which he didn’t allow a run. In that outing, he went six innings and got the win. Opponents are batting .250 off Pallante this season. So far, he has walked 4.5 batters per nine innings compared to 5.62 strikeouts.
Cardinals Offense Breakdown
So far this season, the Cardinals are averaging 3.9 runs per game, which is 26th in the league. At home, they have been slightly better, averaging 4.1 runs per game. As a team, they are batting just .233, which is 16th in the league, and their team on-base percentage of .306 is also below average. St. Louis does have the 15th most home runs in the league but are just 19th in slugging percentage.
Nolan Gorman has been the Cardinals’ top power threat this season, as his 13 homers are 7th most in the MLB. He is also coming off a stretch in which he went 11/33 with five homers over his last nine games. Paul Goldschmidt has also been swinging a hot bat of late, going 10/36 with three homers in his last nine games. Goldschmidt is also on a three-game hitting streak.
Houston is 27-34 overall and is seven games behind the Mariners in the AL West. So far, they have gone 13-11 in divisional games. The Astros are at home today, where they are 16-17 compared to 11-17 on the road.
So far, the Astros have really struggled as the favorite, going just 21-27. As the underdog, they are 6-7 this season. Houston’s overall series record is 8-10-1, and they have dropped two straight series.
When the Astros win, they tend to do so by a wide margin, as their average run differential in victories is +4.1. However, they have been outscored by an average of 0.1 runs per game this season. They are 25-36 against the run line overall, including a 14-19 mark at home. As the favorite, they are just 18-30 against the run line.
When the Astros play at home, the over/under line is set at 8.5 runs, and the over has hit in 10 of their 15 games with that line. Houston’s games have averaged 8.8 runs per game this season, and their over/under record for the year is 22-36. Overall, the over has hit in 47.5% of their games this season, and the average over/under line for their games is 9 runs.
Spencer Arrighetti Gets The Start For The Astros
Right-hander Spencer Arrighetti gets the start for the Astros today as he faces the Cardinals at home. He has made nine starts this year and has a record of 3-5 with a 5.98 ERA. Arrighetti’s WHIP for the season is 1.65, and opponents are batting .272 off him this year. In his last outing, he didn’t give up a run in six innings of work, picking up the win against the Mariners. Before that, he had given up at least two homers in three straight starts. Arrighetti has a walk rate of 4.74 per nine innings compared to 10.51 strikeouts.
Astros Offense Breakdown
As a team, the Astros are the league’s top strikeout team and are also near the top of the league in home runs and have the 2nd best team batting average in the league. Overall, they are averaging 4.4 runs per game, which is 13th in the league. At home, they have been even better, averaging 4.8 runs per contest.
Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker have been the Astros’ top power threats this season, with Alvarez’s 12 homers ranking 2nd on the team and Tucker’s 19 homers leading the team and putting him 8th in the league. Tucker’s 40 RBIs are also the best mark on the team and 8th in the MLB. Both players have been hot of late, with Alvarez batting .462 over his last seven games and Tucker hitting .393. Alex Bregman has also been swinging a hot bat, as he is on a seven-game hitting streak and has five homers in his last seven games.
Cardinals vs Astros Prediction
Our predicted final score for this one is 5-4 in favor of the Astros. So, we would recommend taking them on the money line, as they are sitting at -148 to pick up the win.
Looking at the starting pitchers, we have Spencer Arrighetti going for the Astros and Andre Pallante for the Cardinals. Pallante is projected to finish with just four strikeouts and go seven innings, while Arrighetti is also projected to finish with four K’s but go just five or six innings.
Offensively, we have the Astros finishing with nine hits compared to the Cardinals with nine. However, the Cardinals are projected to hit just two home runs compared to the Astros, who are projected to finish with 1.5.
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 4, 2024 Astros, Cardinals