St. Louis Cardinals enter Monday night having won consecutive series, getting them back to a .500 record at 59-59, and now they play host to the Philadelphia Phillies.
This battle at Busch Stadium on FS1 serves as a series opener, and a crucial one at that. Philly avoided a sweep at the hands of the Blue Jays at home on Sunday, winning on a walk-off knock by Derek Hill in the 12th inning.
That positions the Phillies 3.5 games ahead of the Cardinals for the final National League Wild Card spot, with these two teams meeting again in 11 days from now in Philly for another three-game series.
Monday’s matchup pits two young right-handed pitchers, who have struggled against right-handed hitters, against one another.
Phillies vs. Cardinals betting picks and predictions
Cardinals Money Line (-110)
The Phillies have to travel after back-to-back extra innings games over the weekend, in which they used 12 pitchers between the two games, while the Cardinals get to stay at home and only used seven pitchers between Saturday and Sunday.
The Phillies will in all likelihood be a bit mentally and physically taxed for this series opener, while they also have to lean on rookie pitcher Andrew Painter.
While Painter has been far better since returning from injury, allowing three runs in 10 innings, he still owns a 6.48 ERA and a 1-8 record. Lefties are hitting over .300 against him with an .847 OPS, and righties are hitting .294 with an .886 OPS.
Hunter Dobbins, meanwhile, for the Cardinals, owns a 3.60 ERA, and he was terrific in his last start in the Bronx, surrendering two runs in 6.1 innings.
The Phillies rank 29th in road OPS and dead last in OPS from the right side of the plate. Dobbins limits lefties to a .217 AVG and a .623 OPS.
The Cardinals’ offense is feeling confident after facing the Colorado Rockies pitching over the last couple of days and they should be hungry to set the tone for this home series, considering it could go a long way in deciding their playoff chances.
Under 9 Total Runs (-110)
These two have been two of the biggest Under teams in baseball. Sixty-two of the Phillies games have cashed the Under while 66 Cardinals games have done so.
The Cardinals rank 29th in home OPS and 25th vs RHP. If Painter really is starting to round into form, he could have this inconsistent Cards’ offense in a bind.
Jordan Walker to Hit a Home Run (+400)
The 2026 Home Run Derby champion, Jordan Walker, finally snapped out of his homerless streak on Saturday.
Walker had not hit a home run in about a month, but maybe seeing the ball leave the yard is all he needs to regain his power stroke.
What’s gone unnoticed is that Walker is currently riding a nine-game hitting streak, with four multi-hit games in that span. The trouble is that until the home run, every hit had been a single.
With Painter’s struggles against right-handed hitters, Walker feels like a clear play to land a home run in this contest.
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Phillies vs. Cardinals Odds
Philadelphia Phillies | -110 ML |
St. Louis Cardinals | -110 ML |
Run Line | PHI Phillies -1.5 |
Total | O/U 9 |
Phillies vs. Cardinals player props
Player home run odds
Kyle Schwarber (PHI Phillies) | +205 |
Alec Burleson (STL Cardinals) | +350 |
Bryce Harper (PHI Phillies) | +350 |
Jordan Walker (STL Cardinals) | +400 |
JJ Wetherholt (ATL Braves) | +550 |
Ivan Herrera (STL Cardinals) | +575 |
Jimmy Crooks (STL Cardinals) | +625 |
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
