Defending NL Champs Favored to Ground Visiting Cardinals
Intriguing Pitching Matchups Highlight Cardinals vs Diamondbacks Series Preview

Arizona Is A Slight Favorite in Series Opener Against the Cardinals
There could be some good news for the St. Louis and Arizona hitters as three of the four probable starting pitchers in the first two games of the weekend series have ERAs over 5.00. The Diamondbacks are favored according to the Cardinals vs D’Backs series preview.
St. Louis has won seven of the last 10 games against Arizona with eight of those games landing over the total. The Cardinals scored at least 10 runs in two of the three games at Chase Field in 2023.
The MLB betting lines have Arizona priced at -115 to win the series opener with St. Louis coming in at +105.
Despite reaching the 2023 World Series, Arizona is tied for 11th at +3500 in the odds of winning the World Series. St. Louis is tied for 14th at +4000 in the baseball championship odds.
Keep reading for more betting info to help make MLB predictions as the Cardinals hit the road for a weekend series in Arizona against the defending National League champions.
Cardinals vs Diamondbacks 
Records: St. Louis Cardinals 6-7 (fifth in the NL Central) at Arizona Diamondbacks 6-7 (third in the NL West)
Location: Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ
Day/Time: Streaming: Bally Sports Midwest
Cardinals vs Diamondbacks Probable Starting Pitchers
- Friday: Steven Matz (Cardinals); Brandon Pfaadt (Diamondbacks)
- Saturday: Kyle Gibson (Cardinals); Ryne Nelson (Diamondbacks)
- Sunday: Miles Milokas (Cardinals); Zac Gallen (Diamondbacks)
Cardinals Stuck in a Rut
This is not the kind of consistency that the St. Louis Cardinals are striving for.
St. Louis has scored three runs in five straight games with the Cardinals losing three of those games.
A major issue is that the Cardinals are 6-for-36 with runners in scoring position in those five contests. It doesn’t help that when looking at the MLB stat leaders, former Cardinals outfielder Tyler O’Neill leads the majors in slugging percentage in his first season with the Boston Red Sox.
Only two National League teams have a lower team batting average on the road than the Cardinals and that could
impact the Cardinals vs Diamondbacks series preview.
The total went under in four of the last five games for the Cardinals.
Carroll Starting to Heat Up
While the power numbers aren’t close to the same level for reigning National League Rookie of the Year Corbin Carroll, he does seem to be trending in the right direction.
After going 3-for-17 in the first five games of the season, he has hits in six of his last seven games. That is something to consider when looking at the Cardinals vs Diamondbacks series preview.
Carroll hit his first home run of the season on Tuesday against Colorado after blasting 30 as a rookie.
Carroll hit .467 with four walks, three extra-base hits, four runs, and three RBIs in six games against the Cardinals during the 2023 season.
Seven of Arizona’s last 10 games against NL Central Division teams went under the total.
Who’s Hot
- Nolan Gorman, St. Louis Cardinals 2B: Three of Gorman’s last four hits have been home runs and four of the last six hits went for extra bases.
- Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Arizona Diamondbacks OF: Gurriel is 8-of-22 with three runs and four RBIs in his last five games.
- Kyle Nelson, Arizona Diamondbacks P: Nelson has given up two hits and no runs with six strikeouts in seven innings this season.
- JoJo Romero, St. Louis Cardinals P: Romero has four scoreless outings in his last five appearances.
Who’s Not
- Kyle Gibson, St. Louis Cardinals P: Gibson surrendered seven hits, two home runs, and seven runs in six innings in his last start.
- Paul Goldschmidt, St. Louis Cardinals 1B: Goldschmidt is 1-for-15 with six strikeouts in his last four games.
- Ryne Nelson, Arizona Diamondbacks P: Nelson has allowed 10 hits and eight runs with four walks in 7.2 innings in his first two starts.
- Eugenio Suarez, Arizona Diamondbacks 3B: Suarez has one hit in his last 17 at-bats with six strikeouts over the last four games.
Cardinals vs Diamondbacks Injury Update
The Cardinals continue to play without three of their top hitters with infielder Tommy Edman joining outfielders Dylan Carlson and Lars Nootbaar on the injured list.
Infielder Geraldo Perdomo and outfielder Kristian Robinson are on the MLB injured list for the Diamondbacks.
Cardinals vs Diamondbacks Betting Preview
St. Louis looks to keep rolling against Arizona with the Cardinals going 14-6 over the last 20 games against the Diamondbacks.
Arizona is 5-2 against the spread at home with four of those games going over the total with the Diamondbacks covering in five of seven games on the road.
The Diamondbacks have won five of seven games when listed by the MLB odds as the favorite with St. Louis 4-5 as the underdog.
The Cardinals are just 4-7 when facing right-handed starting pitchers and the Cardinals are set to face three righties in this series.
The total went under in 12 of the Cardinals’ last 18 road games as well as in six of the last eight matchups against National League teams.
The total is current at 9 runs for the series opener and it might be the best option to take Friday’s game to go under the total.
For MLB picks, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
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