St. Louis Cardinals VS Oakland Athletics conclude their three-game interleague series tonight in St. Louis. Both clubs are already out of the playoff chase this season, with the Athletics taking the last position in the AL West Division and the Cardinals in last place in the NL Central Division.
The pitching matchup tonight will feature righty Paul Blackburn (2-3, 4.52) for Oakland and lefty Matthew Liberatore (2-4, 5.62) for St. Louis. The first pitch is at 6:45 PM EST.
Matchplug has the MLB best bets today, picks, and odds for Cardinals VS Athletics. We are among the Best sports betting sites for MLB match previews.
Related: MLB EXPERT PICKS: Washington Nationals VS Boston Red Sox betting Predictions.
Predictions and Betting Preview For St. Louis Cardinals VS Oakland Athletics MLB Regular Season
- Venue: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri.
- When: Wednesday, August 16th, 2023.
- Time: 23:45 GMT
- Teams to play: Cardinals and Athletics.
- MLB Expert Picks: MONEYLINE 1.598
Odds by 1XBet and BetMGM.
Betting On The St. Louis Cardinals
- 1XBet Spread: -1.5
- 1XBet Moneyline: 1.598
- 1XBet Over/Under: Over 9.5
- BetMGM Spread: -1.5
- BetMGM Moneyline: 1.57
- BetMGM Over/Under: Under 9.5
The St. Louis Cardinals had high hopes coming into the 2023 season after winning the NL Central Division in 2022. Sadly, the season has been a disappointment from the beginning, and the Cardinals are already preparing for 2024 after trading Jordan Hicks their closer, and starter Jordan Montogomery at the MLB Trade Deadline.
Over the weekend, they split a two-game series with Kansas City before enjoying a rare free Sunday in the schedule. The Cardinals have reeled off two straight wins over the Athletics to begin the series plus a 6-2 victory on Tuesday night after a four-run first inning courtesy of Nolan Arenado’s 25th home run of the season.
Matthew Liberatore will pitch for St. Louis tonight. He is 2-4 in 10 starts this season including two quality starts. Liberatore allowed 51 hits in 45.2 innings pitched with an ERA of 5.72. He has a K/9 rate of only 5.9 and his WHIP sits at 1.51. He is 1-2 in his last 5 starts with an ERA of 5.23 with 12 strikeouts in 20.2 innings of work. At home, Liberatore is 1-2 with a 4.44 ERA.
Betting On The Oakland Athletics
- 1XBet Spread: +1.5
- 1XBet Moneyline: 2.567
- 1XBet Over/Under: Under 9.5
- BetMGM Spread: +1.5
- BetMGM Moneyline: 2.45
- BetMGM Over/Under: Over 9.5
The Oakland Athletics has had a forgettable season in 2023. They have the worst record in baseball and the ownership group has been under pressure to sell the team from their fanbase from the outset of the season.
Oakland entered this series after being swept by Washington in D.C. over the weekend and seems like a team that just wants the season to be over with. They lost 7-5 making it five consecutive defeats and things went from bad to worse on Tuesday night with a 6-3 loss after the hopeless Athletics line delivered only six hits.
Paul Blackburn will pitch for the Athletics tonight to close out the series in St. Louis. Blackburn is 2-3 starts this season including three quality starts. He has permitted 77 hits in 65.1 innings pitched with an ERA of 4.52. Blackburn’s K/9 rate is 9.0 and his WHIP is 1.5. He is 1-2 in his previous five starts with an ERA of 4.08. He has permitted 33 hits in 28.2 innings pitched and struck out 25 batters in that stretch. On the road, Black is 1-1 with an ERA of 5.34, allowing 40 hits in 28.2 innings pitched.
MatchPlug Prediction
Although the Athletics have the worst record in MLB, experts still have faith in Blackburn to lead them to victory in this series finale against the Cardinals. Liberatore has been inconsistent for the Cardinals and has a weak bullpen supporting him in the later innings.
Blackburn has a good enough ERA of just over 4 in his last 5 starts and analysts expect him to keep St. Louis at arm’s length in this game. Furthermore, Oakland has won three of his last four starts. None of these teams are playing exceptionally well this season, but Blackburn has the most experience of the two pitchers.
Prediction: St. Louis Cardinals Moneyline.
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