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St. Louis Cardinals at San Diego Padres odds, predictions, picks and best bets

Skip Snow  |  Sportsbook Wire

The St. Louis Cardinals (40-40) and San Diego Padres (41-40) meet at 10:10 p.m. Eastern on Saturday in a battle at Petco Park. The Padres downed the Cardinals, 3-1, in Friday's series opener. The loss for St. Louis marked the club's fourth in a row

Odds provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; for a full-set of today's sports odds, access them at Paste BN Sports.

St. Louis Cardinals at San Diego Padres Projected Starting Pitchers

RHP Dakota Hudson vs. RHP Chris Paddack

Hudson carries a 3.36 ERA/4.26 xFIP into Saturday's tilt. The right-hander's best multi-game stretch of the season has been the one he's on of late. Hudson owns a 3.79 xFIP in June; he's yielded two earned runs or less in six of his last seven starts. After early-season road struggles, the 24-year-old has managed a 2.32 ERA over his last 32 innings away from Busch Stadium. Hudson's fastball-slider mix presents problems for a San Diego offense which struggles against the slider.

Paddack is making his second start off a brief respite in the minors. The rookie right-hander didn't pitch from June 12-21; he fanned just one batter in his June 22 return. He has notched a BABIP-aided 3.18 ERA over 71 IP this season. His xFIP sits at a still respectable 4.04, but recent turns have been uninspiring.

St. Louis Cardinals at San Diego Padres: By the Numbers

  • The St. Louis offense ranks 23rd in the league with a group OPS of .720. The Cardinals have struggled of late, putting together a mere .641 OPS over the last two weeks.
  • The San Diego offense owns a .739 OPS (20th). The Padres have batted a robust .291/.372/.507 (.879 OPS) over the last two weeks.
  • Run-suppressant Petco has done a number on the Friars - San Diego ranks 26th in MLB with a .690 home OPS.

  • By xFIP, both bullpens rank as top-10 units. By the same measure, the Cardinals and Padres have been particularly tough on right-handed bats (STL 3.79, SD 3.56). Those xFIPs rank third and second, respectively, in MLB.
  • Both bullpens will see plenty of right-handed bats - 69 percent of St. Louis' plate appearances vs. RHPs are by RHBs; for San Diego, that figure is 72 percent. (MLB average is 55 percent.)
  • The Padres own a .667 win percentage in one-run games and a .375 mark in blowout games (decided by 5-plus runs). Their 41-40 overall record places them some 50 points above their Pythagorean win percentage.

St. Louis Cardinals at San Diego Padres: Picks and Betting Tips

</div> <p> <strong>Moneyline: St. Louis (+112)</strong> is the play. That's a decent number with some baked-in leverage for a Redbird club being slightly better than its surface numbers indicate and for a Friar club being on the other side of that coin.</p> <p> <strong>Run line:</strong> A cooled-off Petco with a pitcher's breeze in the forecast says steer clear of either side of the spread ( <strong>STL +1.5 -210</strong>, <strong>SD -1.5 +174</strong>).</p> <p> <strong>Over/under:</strong> The number is <strong>8</strong>. The <strong>UNDER (-116)</strong> has the current pressure and rightfully so.</p> <p><strong>MORE:</strong></p> <p><a href="https://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/09/burmese-python-discovered-in-surprising-place/?utm_source=USATAPP&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=inline-related">Burmese python discovered in surprising place</a></p> <p><a href="https://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/09/ufc-fighter-makes-opponent-flinch-by-screaming-in-his-face-during-staredown/?utm_source=USATAPP&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=inline-related">UFC fighter makes opponent flinch by screaming in his face during staredown</a></p> <p><a href="https://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/09/rangers-mike-minor-200th-strike-out-after-not-catching-foul-ball-on-purpose/?utm_source=USATAPP&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=inline-related">Rangers ripped for not catching easy foul ball so pitcher could reach milestone</a></p> <p><a href="https://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/09/mariners-felix-hernandez-walk-off-mound-emotional/?utm_source=USATAPP&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=inline-related">See Felix Hernandez's emotional walk off the mound for the Mariners</a></p> <p><a href="https://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/09/baker-mayfield-dunks-on-antonio-brown-on-instagram/?utm_source=USATAPP&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=inline-related">Baker Mayfield dunks on Antonio Brown on Instagram</a></p></body></html>

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