St. Louis Cardinals vs. Atlanta Braves Prediction, Picks, Odds: Can Nolan Arenado and the Cardinals Stay Hot?

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Atlanta Braves Prediction, Picks, Odds: Can Nolan Arenado and the Cardinals Stay Hot?

Throughout the second half of the season, it just seemed like the Atlanta Braves can't lose. Last night, the Braves choked one away, allowing the Cardinals to come back in the ninth inning to win, 6-5. Meanwhile, the Cardinals have ultimately started to run away with the NL Central. The Milwaukee Brewers have struggled to take care of bad teams and have started to fall in the standings. We could see this Cardinals vs. Braves matchup in the postseason. It's been extremely fun. But who will end up with the three-game series win on ESPN?

Here are our picks, predictions, and odds for Sunday's game between the Atlanta Braves vs. St. Louis Cardinals.

Cardinals vs. Braves Start Time, Where to Watch, and Odds

• Date: August 28, 2022
• Game Time: 7:08 pm ET
• Where to Watch: ESPN

Click here for Cardinals vs. Braves odds

Cardinals vs. Braves Injury Report

Braves

Out: 2B Ozzie Albies (Foot), OF Orlando Arcia (Hamstring), OF Adam Duvall (Wrist),

Cardinals

None of Importance

Cardinals vs. Braves Line Movement

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Atlanta Braves Prediction

Adam Wainwright will take the hill for the Cardinals, looking to get the series win at home. Wainwright is 9-9 with a 3.11 ERA on the season. Although he continues to age, he's still one of the most consistent pitchers in baseball. In the last 30 days, Wainwright has had a 4.48 xFIP with just 20.1% of strikeouts. However, he's walked just 6.7% of batters in that time frame while earning nearly 45% of grounders. He's also allowed just 16.2% of line drives and has rarely given up extra-base hits in the last month. That's major, knowing that the Braves are boom or bust. Atlanta's projected lineup has a .187 ISO with a wOBA of .331 but they've also struck out 25.5% of the time against righties. If Wainwright can get his strikeouts up a bit higher and can limit the extra-base hits, the Braves are going to struggle to score in this game. After all, the Braves lineup has hit just 19% of line drives when balls are in play against righties in the last 30 days.

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On the other hand, Jake Odorizzi will take the hill for the Braves. He's easily the weakest link in the starting rotation for the Braves. On the season, he's 5-5 with a 3.95 ERA. However, in the last 30 days, the righty has a 5.20 xFIP. He's earned just 36.6% of grounders and has struggled against righties, allowing a .377 wOBA and ISO of .237 against his last 43 righties faced. The Cardinals will have five righties in the lineup. But two of those five batters include Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado. Those are the two best hitters in the National League right now and they've got a ton of potential going up against Odorizzi. St. Louis should be able to limit strikeouts at a slid rate and continues to hit line drives nearly 25% of the time with their projected lineup. I'll take the Cardinals on the moneyline at -125. St. Louis is quietly becoming one of the best teams in baseball as they continue to extend their lead in the NL Central.

Atlanta Braves vs. St. Louis Cardinals Pick

• Cardinals (-125) (Bet $125 to Win $100)

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