St. Louis Cardinals vs. Colorado Rockies Prediction 8-4-23 MLB Picks

The Colorado Rockies and the St. Louis Cardinals meet in game one of their three-game set in MLB action from Busch Stadium on Friday night. Two teams that are well on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoff race, who draws first blood? Let’s dive in and find out.

Rockies Lose Another Series

The Colorado Rockies dropped yet another series with their loss on Wednesday, going out with a thud in an 11-1 home loss to the San Diego Padres. The loss for Colorado pushed the Rockies to 42-66 on the year, sitting 15.5 games back of the final Wild Card spot in the National League and 3.5 games behind the Nationals with Colorado owning the worst record in the NL. Ryan McMahon leads the Rockies with 101 hits, 18 home runs and 56 RBIs while Elias Diaz has a .275 batting average and Ezequiel Tovar has a team-best 23 doubles so far this season, sharing the lead in two-baggers with McMahon as both McMahon and Tovar each have 3 triples as well on the year. Chris Flexen will start for the Rockies and is 0-5 with 8.08 ERA and 33 strikeouts this season.

Colorado Rockies Team Facts

• The Rockies have lost each of their last 12 games at Busch Stadium.
• The Rockies have covered the run line in each of their last seven road games.
• The Rockies have led after 7 innings in four of their last six games as road underdogs.
• The Rockies have trailed after 5 innings in each of their last nine games at Busch Stadium.
• The Rockies have led after 3 innings in each of their last four Friday night games as underdogs.

Cardinals Continue To Struggle

The St. Louis Cardinals had a chance to make up some ground, taking on a struggling Twins team, but still managed to drop 2 of 3 to lose the series after a 5-3 loss to the Twins in Thursday’s series finale. The loss sent the Cardinals to 48-62 on the year, still sitting 10.5 games back of the final Wild Card spot in the National League. Nolan Arenado leads the Cardinals with 22 home runs, 78 RBIs and a .279 batting average while Paul Goldschmidt has a team-high 114 hits while Willson Contreras has a team-high 22 doubles this season. Brendan Donovan also has a .281 batting average for the Cards this season. Adam Wainwright will start this one for the Cardinals and is 3-5 with a 7.18 ERA and 34 strikeouts this season.

St. Louis Cardinals Team Facts

• The Cardinals have won each of their last 12 home games against the Rockies.
• The Cardinals have failed to cover the run line in seven of their last eight night games against NL West opponents following a home loss.
• The Cardinals have won the first inning in each of their last three games against National League opponents.
• The Cardinals have trailed after 7 innings in three of their last four games as favourites against National League opponents.
• The Cardinals have led after 5 innings in each of their last nine games against the Rockies at Busch Stadium.

Matchup/League Facts

• The St. Louis Cardinals ranks 1st in the league for home runs allowed this season (106).
• The St. Louis Cardinals ranks T29th in the league for triples this season (8).
• The Colorado Rockies ranks 30th in the league for steals this season (40).
• The Colorado Rockies ranks 30th in the league for strikeouts this season (769).

Chris’ Pick

I’m sticking with the over here. These are two of the worst pitchers in baseball right now, as both just can’t keep the other team from scoring and I don’t see that changing here despite the struggle on both sides offensively. Sure these are two inconsistent lineups, but they’re still professionals and Flexen and Wainwright have both given up runs early and often here. Give me the over here.