St. Louis Cardinals vs. Atlanta Braves Pick 5/15/19

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Atlanta Braves Pick 5/15/19

Darin Zank
Date: May 15, 7:20 pm
Location: SunTrust Park
TV: ESPN

Betting Odds

Point Spread: Braves -140/Cardinals +130
Total: 9.5

<p>
The Cardinals exploded for a blowout victory in the opener of this three-game series with the Braves Tuesday night and now shoot for the series victory Wednesday night. Who do we like here for our free MLB pick?
</p>
<h2>
MLB Betting Odds<br />
</h2>
<p>
Wednesday's MLB betting odds opened Atlanta and Soroka at around -145 over St. Louis and Wacha, with an over/under of nine runs. Early betting action then bumped that total to 9.5.
</p>
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<h2>
Cardinals vs. Braves Set-Up<br />
</h2>
<p>
St. Louis popped off for a 14-3 victory to open this series Tuesday night, winning as -130 favorites. The Cardinals took the lead for good on Marcell Ozuna's three-run home run in the first inning, then blew the game open with six runs in the fifth.
</p>
<p>
Tuesday's win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Cardinals, who are also just 3-9 over their last 12 games. At 23-19 overall St. Louis sits in third place in the NL Central, 3.5 games behind the division-leading Cubs.
</p>
<p>
Meanwhile, Tuesday's loss snapped a three-game winning streak for Atlanta. At 21-21 overall the Braves sit in a tie for second place in the NL East with the Mets, 3.5 games behind first-place Philadelphia.
</p>
<p>
This series is the first meeting between these teams this season. Last year Atlanta took the season series from the Cardinals four games to two.
</p>
<h2>
Wednesday's Starting Arms<br />
</h2>
<p>
Soroka is 3/5 on quality starts this season, and has yet to allow more than one earned run in an outing. Last Thursday he held Arizona to one run and four hits through six innings against Arizona, although the Braves lost that game 3-2. And over his five starts this season he's allowed just four ER 20 hits through 29 2/3 innings, with 31 strikeouts.
</p>
<p>
Atlanta is 3-2 with Soroka this season, and he deserves at least one win better.
</p>
<p>
This will be Soroka's first-ever start against St. Louis, which could give him an edge, at least for the first couple of times through the lineup.
</p>
<p>
Wacha is only 2/7 on quality starts this season and 0 for his last three. Last Thursday he gave up four runs and nine hits through 5 2/3 innings against Pittsburgh, but the Cardinals won that game anyway 17-4. And over his last three starts, he's allowed 11 ER and 19 hits through 15 2/3 innings.
</p>
<p>
St. Louis is 4-3 with Wacha this season, but thanks to some good run support 4-1 over his last five starts.
</p>
<p>
This will be Wacha's first start against the Braves since 2017, and that's already kind of a long time ago.
</p>
<h2>
Wednesday's Batting Splits<br />
</h2>
<p>
St. Louis is batting .267/.345/.437 against right-handed pitching this season.
</p>
<p>
Atlanta is batting .252/.332/.421 against RH pitching this season. But this lineup has also only produced a total of 28 runs over its last nine games.
</p>
<h2>
The Bullpens<br />
</h2>
<p>
The Cardinals bullpen owns a 4.07 ERA this season, along with a 1.16 WHIP.
</p>
<p>
The Braves bullpen owns a 4.57 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP.
</p>
<h2>
Totals Report<br />
</h2>
<ul>
<li>
Overs are 22-17 in Cardinals games this season.
</li>
<li>
Overs are 22-18 in Braves games this season.
</li>
<li>
The totals are split 10-10 in games played at SunTrust Park this season.
</li>
<li>
Overs are 5-1 with Wacha this season.
</li>
<li>
Unders are 4-1 with Soroka this season.
</li>
<li>
Overs finished 5-1 in Cards-Braves games last season.
</li>
</ul>
<p><section></p>
<ul>
<li>
<span style="font-size:16px;"><b><span style="color:#008000;">Get more details:</span></b> <a class="advblue" href=" https://www.sportsbettingstats.com/mlb/matchup/1076438">St. Louis Cardinals at Atlanta Braves MLB Match-up Stats </a> </span>
</li>
</ul>
<p></section></p>

Cardinals at Braves Prediction 05/15/2019

Atlanta owns the edge in the pitching match-up but St. Louis gets the check-marks with the sticks and in the bullpen comparison. And the Cardinals are getting the underdog price. We're siding with St. Louis here for our free MLB pick.

Free Pick: Take the Cardinals +130
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