The St. Louis Cardinals (47-42) travel to face off against the Washington Nationals (42-48) on Monday, July 8th. This game will be played at Nationals Park in Washington and televised on MASN. The Cardinals are coming off a win in their previous game, while the Nationals are looking to get back on track from a loss to the Cardinals. First pitch is set for 3:05  CT.

Cardinals vs. Nationals Betting Prediction

• Money Line Prediction: Nationals (-112)
• Over/Under Prediction: Over 9 Runs

• The Nationals have scored 7 or more runs in 6 of their last 15 games, indicating a strong offensive performance.
• In the last 15 games, the Nationals have won 4 out of 6 home games, showing a favorable home-field advantage.
• Against the Cardinals in the current series, the Nationals have already won a game with a significant margin (14-6 on July 6th).
• The Nationals have a higher run differential in their last 15 games compared to the Cardinals, scoring 92 runs while allowing 92, whereas the Cardinals have scored 67 and allowed 67.
• In the last 15 games, the Nationals have shown resilience by winning games even after losses, indicating a strong bounce-back ability.

Cardinals vs Nationals

St. Louis cruised to an easy 8-3 win over the Nationals in the most recent game of this series. The Cardinals had a huge 5th inning, scoring three runs in the 1st and adding two more in the 2nd. As for the Nationals, they scored their first run in the 6th and added two more in the 7th.

Kyle Gibson got the win for the Cardinals, going five innings and giving up three earned runs. He finished the game with eight strikeouts but issued two walks. DJ Herz had a rough outing for the Nationals, taking the loss after going just 4 1/3 innings and giving up four earned runs.

At the plate, the Cardinals were led by Willson Contreras, Nolan Gorman, and Nolan Arenado, as they were the only three Cardinals hitters to have more than one hit. Contreras and Gorman each homered in the game.

St. Louis is 47-42 overall and on a four-game winning streak, but they are still five games behind the Brewers in the NL Central. Their series record is 15-11-2, and they are currently winning their series vs. the Nationals. The Cardinals have a 25-19 record as favorites and are 28-17 against the run line as underdogs.

Cardinals games have averaged 8.6 runs this season, and their over/under record is 41-45. When the total has been set at 9 runs, their O/U record is 7-5-1. St. Louis’ run line record is 45-44, including a 21-26 mark on the road.

Miles Mikolas Gets The Start For The Cardinals

Right-hander Miles Mikolas is starting for the Cardinals today as he faces the Nationals on the road. He has made 18 starts this season and has a record of 6-7 with an ERA of 5.18. Looking at his overall numbers, Mikolas has a WHIP of 1.22 and has allowed a total of 13 home runs. In his last outing, Mikolas finished with a no-decision, giving up two earned runs in six innings of work. Before that, he had won two straight starts. The right-hander has been much better on the road, coming in with a record of 5-4 and an ERA of 4.71 compared to 1-3 with a 7.1 ERA at home.

Cardinals Offense Breakdown

So far this season, the Cardinals offense has been pretty average in most categories, including batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. However, they are just 22nd in the league in runs per game at 4.1. Their home run numbers are also below average, as they are 21st in the league in that category. One thing that has been working in their favor is their collective batting average on balls in play, which is 8th in the league.

Over the last six games, Masyn Winn has gone 10/27 (.370) with six runs scored, but he has yet to hit a home run during this stretch. Willson Contreras has also been swinging a hot bat of late, going 8/25 with three homers in his last six games. For the season, Alec Burleson and Nolan Gorman are 2nd and 3rd on the team in RBIs, respectively, and Gorman leads the team with 17 homers.

Washington has a 42-48 record and is 4th in the NL East, trailing the Phillies by 16 games. The Nationals have gone 16-12 against other teams in their division. They are 20-23 at home and 22-25 on the road this season. The Nationals have dropped two straight games and are 4-6 in their last 10.

Against the run line, the Nationals are 52-38, with a 24-19 record at home. Their games have averaged 8.7 runs this season, resulting in a 43-43 over/under record. The over has hit in three straight Nationals games, and when the O/U line is set at 9 runs, their record is 5-6-2.

Mitchell Parker Gets The Start For The Nationals

Left-hander Mitchell Parker gets the start for the Nationals today as he faces the Cardinals at home. He has made 15 starts this season and has a record of 5-4 with an ERA of 3.61. Parker’s WHIP for the season is currently 1.10. Looking back at his last outing, Parker finished with a no-decision after giving up five earned runs in six innings of work. Before that, he had given up four earned runs in back-to-back outings. Parker has allowed a total of 11 home runs this season. Per nine innings, he is averaging just 1.91 walks compared to 7.23 strikeouts.

Nationals Offense Breakdown

Washington’s offense comes into today’s game averaging 4.2 runs per game, which is 18th in the league. They have been a bit better at home, averaging 4.3 runs per game. So far, they are just 25th in the league in home runs and are also towards the bottom of the league in terms of isolated power. As a team, the Nationals are batting .239, which is 12th in the league.

CJ Abrams has been the Nationals top power threat this season, as his 14 homers are the best mark on the team and 13th in the league. Abrams is also hitting .282 for the season and has driven in 46 runs. Luis Garcia Jr. has gone 10/17 in his last five games, including three homers, and is also on a four-game hitting streak.

Cardinals vs Nationals Prediction

Our predicted score for this Nationals vs. Cardinals matchup is 6-4 in favor of the Nationals, and with the Nationals at home, we like them on the money line at -112.

Looking at the starting pitchers, our projections have Mitchell Parker going for the Nationals and Miles Mikolas for the Cardinals. Mikolas does have the highest projected innings total, but we have him with the second worst in hits allowed and fourth worst in earned runs allowed.

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All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!

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* 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.