Cardinals vs Padres Betting: St. Louis Slight Road Favorite
San Diego Putting Up the Runs
The St. Louis Cardinals visit the San Diego Padres to open a three-game series on Monday. St. Louis opened the season with four games at the LA Dodgers, so a tough West Coast swing for the team before Friday’s home opener. The Padres and Dodgers had two games in South Korea to open the season. San Diego won’t have its first true road game until Friday. Monday’s scheduled starters are Kyle Gibson and Matt Waldron. The Cardinals vs Padres betting lines show Gibson and St. Louis are -110 and the total on the game is 8.5 (under -120).
Cardinals vs Padres 
Location: Petco Park
Day/Time:
Monday’s Game
The Cardinals went 1-3 in the four-game series with the Dodgers. St. Louis rallied to win Saturday’s game, but let a 4-0 lead get away from them on Sunday. The Cardinals won’t be the only team to struggle against the Dodgers this season. Los Angeles leads all of the MLB power rankings and is probably the team to beat this year.
Gibson had a rough spring training, but is a veteran pitcher so you can’t read too much into it. He allowed five homers in 15 innings and had a 7.80 ERA. His teams are 27-18 in his career when he starts in March or April. They’re 125-124 beginning in May through the end of the season.
San Diego is 3-3 on the season after splitting the two games in South Korea with the Dodgers, followed by a 2-2 mark against the Giants. The Padres’ offense has been strong, scoring 6 or more runs in four of its six games.
Waldron was called up last season and pitched well. He had a strong spring training to lock down the No. 5 starter spot. Waldron had a 1.35 ERA after allowing two runs in 13 1/3 innings in the spring. He’s making his first start of the season in this one.
There’s a little bit of value in taking the Padres at even money in this one, although San Diego was just 2-5 as a home underdog last season. The Padres were 1-6 in totals when they were home dogs last year, so the under is worth a look.
Tuesday’s Game
Miles Mikolas and Yu Darvish are the scheduled starters on Tuesday. The MLB betting odds will have the Padres as mid-sized favorites. Mikolas was roughed up by the Dodgers in his first start of the season, although he’s never been a great early-season pitcher. The Cardinals are 13-10 when he starts in March or April, but 15-7-1 in totals. Mikolas saw his ERA jump to 4.78 last season and the Cardinals were 15-20 when he started.
Darvish has always been a solid pitcher early in the season. His teams have gone 33-18 in March and April, although he’s also coming off a rough 2023. Darvish was solid in his first two starts of the season. San Diego split those two games, but do need to see him pitch a little deeper into the game.
The Cardinals vs Padres betting line will be the deciding factor here. If the price is reasonable, San Diego is worth a play. If the Padres are higher than -160, a smaller wager on the run could be worth a stab.
Wednesday’s Game
Zack Thompson and Joe Musgrove are the scheduled starters for the series finale. The Cardinals vs Padres betting odds will see San Diego as decent-sized favorites here against the left-handed throwing Thompson. The Dodgers roughed-up Thompson in his season debut, hitting three home runs in 5 1/3 innings.
Musgrove’s teams are 14-9 when he starts in March or April, although he’s struggled coming out of the gate so far this season. He also had a rough spring training but was solid last year. He doesn’t give a lot of confidence right now, however, especially if he goes off as a hefty price.
The Padres did hit left-handed starters well a year ago, although they lost their lone game against a southpaw this season. San Diego does have one of the better MLB lineups against left-handers, so they should be fine as the season progresses.
This one looks to be a possible over play, as long as the total isn’t above 9. The game will be played in the afternoon, so the ball should carry a little better.
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