Padres vs. Cardinals Prediction: Expert Picks, Odds, Stats & Best Bets – Thursday, August 29, 2024

The San Diego Padres (76-59) are banking on Luis Arraez, who is in top form after a four-hit game, to lead them against the St. Louis Cardinals (66-67) on Thursday at 2:15 p.m. ET on BSMW. The Padres are the bookies' favorites for the game at -112.

Michael King starts for San Diego, while Sonny Gray is St. Louis' starter for the contest.

Padres vs. Cardinals odds

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Betting trends for Padres and Cardinals

The Padres have been favorites 85 times this season. In those games they have won 48-37.

San Diego has a record of 47-35 when playing as a moneyline favorite with odds of -112 or less (57.3% win percentage).

The Cardinals have won 33, or 50%, of the 66 games they have played as underdogs this season.

St. Louis has a 32-33 record and a 49.2% winning percentage, although bookmakers rate the club as an underdog this season at odds of -107 or more.

The Padres have played 135 games with an over/under set and have combined with their opponents to exceed the total 73 times (73-61-1).

The Cardinals and their opponents have reached the over in 63 of their 132 games this season.

Padres Stats & Insights

The Padres score the ninth most runs in baseball (642 total, 4.8 per game).

San Diego averages 1.1 home runs per game and ranks 12th in the MLB with 154 total home runs.

With a batting average of .265, the Padres are the top hitters in the Major League.

San Diego averages 6.5 strikeouts per game, the fewest Ks in the Major League.

The Padres pitching team ranks third in the majors with a total of 9.2 strikeouts per nine innings.

San Diego ranks 14th in the ERA comparison of all MLB pitching teams (3.98).

Cardinals Stats & Insights

The Cardinals rank 24th in the majors with a total of 545 runs scored this season.

St. Louis' 136 home runs rank 23rd in Major League Baseball.

The Cardinals have a team batting average of .247 this season, ranking 13th among MLB teams.

St. Louis ranks 11th among MLB offenses in strikeouts per game (8.2).

The Cardinals have a K/9 of eight as a pitching team this season, ranking 26th in baseball.

St. Louis ranks 19th in the Major Leagues with ERA (4.16) this season.

Key Padres players to keep an eye on

The Padres send King (11-7) to the mound to make his 26th start of the season. He has a record of 11-7 with a 3.14 ERA and 174 strikeouts in 146 1/3 innings pitched.

Jurickson Profar leads San Diego with 80 runs batted in and has a batting average of .285.

Jackson Merrill has 134 hits this season and an OBP of .322. His slugging average this year is .487.

Manny Machado has a .462 slugging average and 22 home runs this season, the most on his team, and has also collected 79 RBIs.

Arraez leads San Diego in batting average (.310) this season, with four home runs and 38 RBIs.

Important Cardinals players to keep an eye on

The Cardinals will send Gray (11-9) to the mound for his 25th start this season.

Alec Burleson scored the most runs on his team with 21 home runs and 72 runs batted in.

Brendan Donovan has a batting average of .263 with 27 doubles, two triples, 10 home runs and 38 walks.

Masyn Winn had the best batting average on the team with .286.

Nolan Arenado has a batting average of .271 with 19 doubles, 14 home runs and 35 walks.

Injuries to the Padres and Cardinals

Padres: Ha-Seong Kim: 10 days IL (shoulder), Stephen Kolek: 15 days IL (forearm), Yu Darvish: 15 days IL (groin), Wandy Peralta: 15 days IL (adductor), Fernando Tatis Jr.: 60 days IL (quadriceps), Luis Patiño: 60 days IL (elbow)

Cardinals: Willson Contreras: 10 days IL (finger), Mike Siani: 10 days IL (oblique), Lance Lynn: 15 days IL (knee), Drew Rom: 60 days IL (biceps), Steven Matz: 60 days IL (back), Keynan Middleton: 60 days IL (forearm)

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