Cardinals vs. Braves Pick: Can Paul Goldschmidt and the Cardinals Even the Series Tonight?
The Braves take on the Cardinals tonight. Can Paul Goldschmidt and the Cardinals even the series? Ben Rajavuori answers.
Ben Rajavuori - April 4, 2023, 5:53 PM EDT
5 minCardinals vs. Braves Pick: Can Paul Goldschmidt and the Cardinals Even the Series Tonight?
The Cardinals opened the series with a 4-8 loss last night, as the Braves lit up Woodford and tacked on two more from the bullpen. Tonight, the Cardinals will try to bounce back and even the series. The Cardinals have strong hopes for this season after winning the NL Central last season, going 93-69. They will have to win tonight to avoid losing the series to the Braves, who also won their division last season, going 101-61. The Cardinals are currently favored to bounce back tonight as -135 favorites.
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Atlanta Braves Prediction
The Cardinals send out Steven Matz tonight to try and keep the Braves bats quiet. This is Matz's first start of the season, and he is coming off a so-so season after dealing with some injuries. He had a 5.25 ERA in 2022 over ten starts and some bullpen appearances, but he had a much better 3.82 ERA in 2021 with the Blue Jays.
Matz had a blowup start against the Braves last time he faced them, giving up six runs in 2.2 innings, but he was solid against the Braves before that start. In his previous four before that, he went six IP with one run, six IP with zero runs, six IP with one run, and six IP with one run. I think his last start was an anomaly bad outing, but his numbers before that against the Braves are strong.
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On the other side, the Braves send out Dylan Dodd to make his MLB debut and boy; he is in a tough position here. Not only does he make his debut on the road, but he has to face one of the scariest lineups in baseball as a lefty pitcher. Last season, not one other team had a higher OPS against lefty pitchers than the Cardinals. Their .808 OPS led baseball, and they crushed lefties all season. They had a 69-58 record against right-handed pitchers and a 24-11 record against left-handed pitchers.
This season, through four games, the Cardinals lead the MLB in batting average at .356. Their lineup has talent up and down, including Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, who were two of the best hitters in the league last season. Goldschmidt specifically CRUSHES lefties. He batted .411 with a 1.328 OPS against lefties last season, which led the MLB BY FAR. Second was Xander Bogaerts, with a .382 average and 1.038 OPS.
Dodd does not have much, high-level experience, as he only has had one start at the AAA minor level. He spent all of 2021 and most of 2022 in the single A level of the minors, and even though he had pretty good numbers, this is a very difficult spot for a rookie to make his debut. Dodd also had a 12-9 record in the minors.
With the Cardinals losing the series opener, I love them to bounce back and crush a debuting pitcher here. They did the same thing in the first series of the season, losing 9-10 to the Blue Jays and then coming out much stronger in games two and three. I see a similar situation today and a strong bounce-back for the Cardinals. Also, a prop look at Goldschmidt is not a bad idea, considering he had a .411 average against lefties last season.
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Atlanta Braves Pick
2 Unit Pick: Cardinals ML @ (-135) Bet $100 to collect $174 DraftKings has the best odds; click here to bet
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Cardinals vs. Braves Start Time, Where to Watch, and Odds
- Date: Tuesday, April 4, 2023
- Game Time: 7:45 pm ET
- Where to Watch: MLB Extra Innings
