Game Information
St. Louis Cardinals (9-14) at Atlanta Braves (9-13)
Time: 6:15pm CT Tuesday
How to watch: FanDuel Sports Network
Probable pitchers: Andre Pallante (2-1, 3.22 ERA) vs TBD
DraftKings Odds
Moneyline: Braves -155, Cardinals +130
Total: 8.5 (over -115, under -105)
Cards Desperate For Win
The St. Louis Cardinals hope to avoid their sixth consecutive loss when they take on the Atlanta Braves tonight at Truist Park.
The Redbirds’ road woes continued last night with a 7-6 loss in Atlanta, marking their tenth defeat in eleven games away from home this season. The bullpen was the culprit last night with 5 runs allowed in the 8th inning, which dropped the bullpen’s season ERA to 5.08 (25th in MLB).
Cardinals Turn To Pallante
The Cardinals give the ball to Andre Pallante, who went 6 innings in a loss to the Mets in his last start. The right-hander was done in by just one bad inning, as all 4 New York runs came in the second inning.
Pallante has been rock solid since joining the starting rotation in May of last season. Over his 24 starts, he is 10-8 with a 3.50 ERA in 133.2 innings.
TBD Starter For Braves
As of the time of this writing, tonight’s starter for the Braves is to be determined. Scheduled starter Spencer Strider has been scratched and placed on the IL with a hamstring injury.
Offensively, the Braves are trending up averaging 5.7 runs per game during their current four-game winning streak. But overall, Atlanta is scoring just 3.8 runs per game (22nd in MLB).
My Pick
I have no data to back this up, but it seems like the “TBD starter” has been the Cardinals’ kryptonite over the years. Whether it’s a bullpen game or some unknown pitcher coming up from the minors, I’ve watched a lot of frustrating games over the years where the Cards don’t put up runs when you expect them to.
I also have faith that Pallante bounces back with a good start tonight. He has been very consistent during his time in the rotation, and he pitched very well in his last outing outside of one bad inning.
That leads me to taking the first five under in this one. And last night was another good reminder - I rarely recommend taking a full game under in baseball. The first five under cashed last night, but the full game went over.
Usually if I like an under, it’s because of the starting pitching matchup, so taking a first five under eliminates the bullpens and the possibility of extra innings from the equation. All it takes is one reliever to not have his good stuff (like we saw last night) or the game to go to extra innings where the teams start with a runner on second base, and there’s a good chance your under is toast.
Pick: Under 4.5 in the first five innings at +100 on DraftKings (bet to -110)
Eric Sontag hosts Domesticated Gamblers every Friday on the Sports Hub STL YouTube channel. Follow him on X @GamblingDads, and click here for his daily picks on all of our St. Louis area sports teams. Picks = betting the game - minus odds betting to win 1 unit, plus odds risking 1 unit. Leans = no strong opinion, not betting the game. Disclaimer