Cardinals vs Padres Prediction

San Diego Padres (75-78) vs St. Louis Cardinals (67-86)

Game Info: Friday, September 22, 2023 at 9:40 pm (Petco Park)

Matt Waldron (1-3) (5.16) vs Dakota Hudson (6-2) (5.12)

Betting Odds: San Diego Padres -148 / St. Louis Cardinals +136 --- Over/Under: 9

The San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals do battle Friday night in game 1 of an MLB series at Petco Park. Let’s preview this game and give out a pick and prediction.

St. Louis Cardinals Betting Preview

The Cardinals look to snap a 3-game losing streak. The Cardinals are 1 of 3 NL teams bounced from the playoff race. The Cardinals pitching staff is 25th in ERA (4.80), 27th in WHIP (1.45) and 23rd in quality starts (45). The Cardinals' offense is 18th in runs per game (4.46), 14th in batting average (.251) and 10th in homers (204). Paul Goldschmidt leads the Cardinals with 156 hits and 79 RBI, while Nolan Arenado and Willson Contreras have combined for 262 hits and 160 RBI. Dakota Hudson gets the ball, and he is 6-2 with a 5.12 ERA and 40 strikeouts this season. Hudson is 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA and 5 strikeouts in his career against the Padres.

St. Louis Cardinals Team Facts

• The Cardinals have lost each of their last nine road games following a home loss.
• The Cardinals have failed to cover the run line in each of their last seven road games against National League opponents following a home loss.
• The Cardinals have trailed after 5 innings in each of their last seven games at Petco Park.
• The Cardinals have trailed after 7 innings in each of their last six night games at Petco Park against NL West opponents.
• The Cardinals have trailed after 3 innings in each of their last three games at Petco Park.

San Diego Padres Betting Preview

The Padres look to build on their 7-game winning streak. The Padres are 4 games back in the NL wild card race. The Padres pitching staff is 5th in ERA (3.87), 14th in WHIP (1.28) and 3rd in quality starts (70). The Padres' offense is 14th in runs per game (4.66), 21st in batting average (.243) and 13th in homers (198). Xander Bogaerts leads the Padres with 159 hits and 53 RBI, while Juan Soto and Fernando Tatis Jr. have combined for 284 hits and 178 RBI. Matt Waldron gets the ball, and he is 1-3 with a 5.16 ERA and 20 strikeouts this season. This will be Waldron’s first career game against the Cardinals.

San Diego Padres Team Facts

• The Padres have lost seven of their last eight games as favorites against NL Central opponents following a win.
• The Padres have failed to cover the run line in eight of their last nine games as favorites against NL Central opponents following a win.
• The Padres have led after 3 innings in each of their last five night games against the Cardinals at Petco Park.
• The 'Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs' market has hit in each of the Padres' last three night games at Petco Park.
• The Padres have led after 5 innings in each of their last seven games against the Cardinals at Petco Park.

Matchup/League Facts

• The San Diego Padres rank 2nd in the league for walks this season (616).
• The San Diego Padres rank 28th in the league for triples this season (12).
• The St. Louis Cardinals rank T29th in the league for triples this season (11).
• The St. Louis Cardinals rank 29th in the league for strikeouts this season (1151).

Randy’s Pick

The Cardinals are a team that's already focused on vacation, and Dakota Hudson isn't scaring anybody with his 5.12 ERA and 1.45 WHIP. The Padres have quietly won 7 straight games and find themselves just 4 games out of the wild card race. Things could get interesting over this last week. The Padres have to view this series as a chance to keep plugging away in the standings. The price is reasonable. Give me the Padres for an eighth straight victory. 

The pick in this article is the opinion of the writer, not a PickDawgz site consensus.