A diaper dandy is in store as two of the most historically successful franchises in all of baseball go head-to-head as the St. Louis Cardinals travel to Fenway Park to take on the Boston Red Sox in a highly anticipated inter-league matchup! It is time to look at our MLB odds series, where our Cardinals-Red Sox prediction and pick will be made.
Facing off for a three-game series in Boston for the first time since 2014, the Cardinals are coming off a 6-4 defeat at the hands of the Pirates. However, St. Louis still managed to take three of four from Pittsburgh and now are only one game from going ten games above .500 at 37-28 on the season. In line for the start in this one for the red birds will be the future Hall of Famer himself in Adam Wainwright, who has compiled a 5-4 record with a 2.84 ERA in his 12 games started.
No doubt, Boston’s season got off to a rocky start, but since then, the Red Sox have gone on a roll and have won 11 of their past 14 games out on the diamond. After coming up just short against the A’s 4-3 in their latest outing, RHP Michael Wacha will try to rally the troops on the mound with his 4-1 record and shiny 2.33 ERA on the campaign.
Here are the Cardinals-Red Sox MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
*Watch MLB Games LIVE with fuboTV (click for free trial)
While their 16-15 record away from home leaving much to be desired, the Cardinals are still one of the more dangerous teams to play against within the entire sport. Now occupying the first place spot in the NL Central, St. Louis certainly doesn’t lack any firepower at the dish or from the rubber.
It always helps to have one of the best offensive slugging weapons at your disposal right? Throughout his illustrious career, Paul Goldschmidt has always been a force to be reckoned with, but his unbelievable start to the 2022 season has provided him with a chance to have his greatest statistical season of his career. With a .347 batting average, 16 home runs, and 56 RBIs, Goldschmidt is well on his way to being a possible NL MVP winner if he can continue his torrid play at the plate.
In large part thanks to Goldschmidt’s offensive prowess, the Cardinals have worked their way near the top of the league in runs scored with 311, which is currently the fifth most in the majors. From top to bottom, St. Louis’ lineup can strike fear into anyone whenever they step inside the batter’s box.
Surprisingly, despite his numerous years of experience pitching at the big league level, Adam Wainwright has actually never made a regular-season start at Fenway. Wainwright is certainly giving Father Time a run for his money, as he is proving that the age of 40 is the new 30. Expect the Cardinals ace to be sharp in one of baseball’s oldest and greatest venues.
There’s a reason why the MLB season is as long as it is, as the Red Sox are prime example number one of a team finding their groove after coming out of the gate stumbling. Now at 34-30 and only a half-game out of a Wild Card spot, Boston is hoping that they have turned a corner and can make some noise over the course of the next few months of play.
One thing that the Red Sox can’t have a repeat in order to cover the spread and ultimately win is how they left way too many men on base in their home loss against Oakland. In that contest, Boston left 13 runners on base despite collecting 11 hits. When the dust settled, the Red Sox had gone 1-14 with runners in scoring position. Obviously not a recipe for success, Boston still ranks 11th in the league with a .319 on-base percentage, so consider yesterday an anomaly.
The best part of Boston’s game is hands down their pitching arms, as the Sox possess the sixth-best ERA at 3.52 in all of the land. Hurlers such as Michael Wacha are big reasons why the pitching has been up to snuff, as the former Cardinal is only two starts removed from a dominant complete-game shutout against the Angels on June 6th. Wacha’s emotions should be at an all-time high, as he is facing his former squad for the first time.
This game is one to look forward to, as this should be a heck of a series all weekend long. With both pitchers tossing effectively on the year and each offense starting to click on all cylinders, this one should come down to the wire. If Boston doesn’t win, they should at least cover the +1.5 spread.
Final Cardinals-Red Sox Pick: Red Sox +1.5 (-182)
21+ and present in AZ, CO, CT, IA, IL, IN, LA, MI, NY, NJ, PA, TN, VA, or WV. First online real money wager only. Refund issued as nonwithdrawable site credit that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-270-7117 for confidential help (MI), 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ, PA, IL, VA), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN), or visit www.1800gambler.net (WV).