St. Louis Cardinals vs. Houston Astros Prediction: Can Justin Verlander, Astros Get Hot Early Against Cards?
The Houston Astros will host the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night to start off a midwestern series. Can Justin Verlander and the Astros get off to a hot start in the first meeting? Ben Rajavuori provides his best bet for Cardinals vs. Astros.
Ben Rajavuori - June 3, 2024, 2:55 PM EDT
5 minSt. Louis Cardinals vs. Houston Astros Prediction: Can Justin Verlander, Astros Get Hot Early Against Cards?
The Houston Astros and St. Louis Cardinals open a three-game series from Minute Maid Park in Texas tonight. The Houston Astros have had a very tumultuous season to start 2024, as they sit in third place in the AL West with a record of 26–34. They are 4–6 over their last 10 games and will look to crawl back to .500 before the All-Star break hits.
Cardinals vs. Astros DATE, TIME, AND WHERE TO WATCH
- Date: June 3, 2024
- Start Time: 8:10 p.m. ET
- Where to Watch: MLB Extra Innings
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Houston Astros Prediction
The St. Louis Cardinals have bounced back after a rough start to the season and are one game under .500 at 28–29. They are currently in second place in the NL Central behind the Brewers after a 7–3 stretch over their last 10 games.
The Cardinals avoided a sweep in Citizens Bank Park yesterday by beating the Phillies on Sunday night baseball score of 5–4. The game went to extra innings and the Cardinals were able to take care of business in the 10th. This marks the third series that the Cardinals are playing on the road in a row, And they’re in a bit of a tough travel spot after playing on Sunday night baseball in Philly last night and traveling to play in Houston today. They will have to be on their game, because they’re facing one of the more notable pitching names in baseball, Justin Verlander.
Justin Verlander gets to start tonight for the Astros and is sporting a 3.26 ERA across his eight starts in the 2024 season. He is coming off back-to-back excellent outings, pitching 13 combined innings against the Mariners and Athletics with just two earned runs allowed, two solo home runs. Verlander has long been one of the most notable names in baseball and for a good reason. While Verlander has been in the league a long time, he actually does not have at-bats against many of the Cardinals' current lineup. The ones he has seen he has dominated. He has 33 at-bats against four of the Cardinals combined, sporting a .152 batting average allowed.
Kyle Gibson will start on the other side. Gibson is also a longtime vet of the MLB and has had a mostly successful career with a few bumps between. His ERA has been above 4.7 for the last three seasons since his career-best year in Texas in 2021. This year, he is sporting a 3.6 ERA and a 4–2 record. Gibson was hot in May, posting just one outing in which he allowed more than two earned runs. Over his last two appearances, he pitched 10 combined innings against the Reds and Orioles allowing just one earned run on one solo run. Unfortunately for Gibson, he has not had much success against the Astros. The Astros have posted a .265 batting average and .786 OPS in 151 at-bats against Kyle Gibson. They have also kept their strikeouts low and tagged him for seven home runs. With the Cardinals playing on Sunday night baseball last night and having to travel to Houston today in the middle of a road trip, this seems like a perfect storm for another dominant outing from Justin Verlander. Verlander is on a roll right now and usually sees little resistance when he is in the zone. The best Astros bats have decent numbers off Gibson and should be able to tag him for at least a few runs today on route to a lead after the first five innings.
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Houston Astros Pick
Pick: Astros First Five Innings -.5 (-125) Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds
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