Cardinals vs. Braves Prediction: Expert Picks, Odds, Stats & Best Bets

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05 April 2023

Cardinals vs. Braves Prediction: Expert Picks, Odds, Stats & Best Bets

The St. Louis Cardinals (2-3) will be out to avoid the sweep when they host the Atlanta Braves (4-1) to complete a three-game series. Sportsbooks have listed the Cardinals as -127 favorites for the series finale, while the Braves are +108 underdogs.

Miles Mikolas gets the starting nod for St. Louis while Bryce Elder is Atlanta’s starter for the contest.

Cardinals vs. Braves Odds

Cardinals odds to win: -127
Braves odds to win: +108
Spread: Cardinals -1.5
Total: 9 runs

Cardinals vs. Braves Promo Codes

Game Time and Information

Date: Wednesday, April 5, 2023
Time: 1:15 PM ET
TV: MLB Network

Who Will Win Cardinals vs. Braves?

Cardinals and Braves Betting Trends (2022)

The Cardinals won 65.7% of the games last season they were favored on the moneyline (65-34).

St. Louis had a record of 54-26 in games it played as a moneyline favorite with odds of -127 or shorter last year (67.5%).

Last season, the Braves were the underdog 35 times and won 13, or 37.1%, of those games.

Last season, Atlanta won four of its 17 games, or 23.5%, when it was the underdog by at least +108 on the moneyline.

The Cardinals combined with their opponents to hit the over on the total 78 times last season for a 78-80-6 record against the over/under.

The Braves and their opponents hit the over in 82 of their 165 games with a total last season.

Cardinals Stats & Insights (2022)

Last season the Cardinals scored the fifth-most runs in baseball (772 total, 4.8 per game).

St. Louis ranked ninth-best in baseball last season with 197 total home runs.

The Cardinals’ .252 batting average was ninth-best in MLB.

St. Louis’ batters struck out 7.6 times per game, the fifth-fewest strikeouts in MLB.

The Cardinals pitching staff was last in MLB with a collective 7.4 strikeouts per nine innings last season.

St. Louis’ 3.79 team ERA ranked ninth among all MLB pitching staffs.

Braves Stats & Insights (2022)

The Braves scored 789 runs last season, which ranked third in MLB.

Atlanta hit 243 homers last season, which ranked second in the majors.

The Braves had a team batting average of .253 last season, which ranked seventh among MLB teams.

Atlanta was one of the least disciplined teams at the plate last season, ranking 29th with an average of 9.2 strikeouts per game.

The Braves had a 9.7 K/9 last season as a pitching staff, second-best in baseball.

Atlanta pitched to a 3.45 last season, which ranked fifth in baseball.

Cardinals Key Players to Watch (2022)

Mikolas (0-0) gets the start for the Cardinals, his second of the season.

Last season, Paul Goldschmidt had a .317 batting average with 35 home runs and 115 RBI.

Nolan Arenado hit .293 with an OBP of .361 and a slugging percentage of .533.

Tommy Edman finished with a .265 average, 13 home runs and 57 RBI last season.

Willson Contreras hit .243 with an OBP of .349, and a slugging percentage of .466.

Braves Key Players to Watch (2022)

Elder will make his first start of the season for the Braves.

Austin Riley hit 38 home runs while putting up a batting average of .273 last season.

Matt Olson was productive with 103 runs batted in while picking up 148 hits.

Sean Murphy hit .250 a season ago with 37 doubles, two triples, 18 home runs and 58 walks.

Michael Harris II had 27 doubles, three triples, 19 home runs and 21 walks while batting .297.

Cardinals and Braves Injuries

Cardinals: Lars Nootbaar: 10 Day IL (Thumb), Paul DeJong: 10 Day IL (Back), Adam Wainwright: 15 Day IL (Groin), Wilking Rodriguez: 15 Day IL (Shoulder)

Braves: Max Fried: 15 Day IL (Left hamstring), Kyle Wright: 15 Day IL (Shoulder), Raisel Iglesias: 15 Day IL (Shoulder), Huascar Ynoa: 60 Day IL (Elbow), Kolby Allard: 60 Day IL (Oblique), Tyler Matzek: 60 Day IL (Elbow)