The St. Louis Cardinals (50-46) aims to get off to a good start in their series opener against the Atlanta Braves (53-42) on Friday, July 19, at 7:20 PM ET. The action will occur at Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia, where the Braves are a slight favorite, with a moneyline of -135.
The Cardinals finished a four-game series against the Chicago Cubs, going 2-2 in that stretch. Their most recent performance was an 8-3 defeat.
They will start Sonny Gray (9-3) on the mound. He has a 3.34 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. They should have a good shot with him starting, as their team ERA is 4.02. Compared to the Braves, they have the advantage here.
Offensively, they are doing well, with a few players that stand out. Alex Burleson leads with a .288 batting average and 53 RBIs. In addition, Nolan Gorman leads with 17 home runs, which landed out of the team's 94.
The Cardinals' offense has been good at the plate, averaging .245. However, they have consistently allowed other teams to average .251. They will need to find a way to slow down the Brave to keep their pace going.
The Braves are 2-3 in their last five games but are coming off a 6-3 victory against the San Diego Padres. They have scored six runs each in both wins in their span of five games.
Spencer Schwellenbach (3-4) gets the start on the mound. He is currently offering them a 4.43 ERA and a WHIP at 1.16. Their team ERA is at 3.40, so he will need a great start to stay in line here.
They feature some excellent players offensively, such as Marcell Ozuna. He leads them with 26 homers, a.303 batting, and has accumulated 77 RBIs. His great showing could push them over the edge when they need him most.
The Braves are averaging .241 at the plate but have let teams to around .233. They will need another strong performance from the mound to hold the Cardinals' offense back.
The Atlanta Braves are slightly favored to kick off this series at home, with odds courtesy of MyBookie. According to market insights, the Braves have a 62.8 percent chance of winning.
This should be another close thriller between the two teams. The Cardinals have won twice out of three games against the Braves, which shows they can produce enough offense to defeat them. With good starter pitching and potent offense, they should have a shot at winning.
