St. Louis Heads To Big Apple For Three-Game Set
NY Has Edge At Plate Per Our Cardinals vs Mets Series Preview
A pair of National League squads that have been inconsistent square off this weekend. Our Cardinals vs Mets Series Preview sees St. Louis visit the New York Mets a three-game series. Both MLB teams are coming off victories in their last games, but neither has been able to put together long streaks of wins this season.
The Cardinals won a series this week against the Arizona Diamondbacks at home but have dropped five of their last seven overall. St. Louis sits in last place in the NL Central heading into the weekend with an 11-14 mark.
New York has also struggled, dropping three of their last four, though they pulled out a win in their series finale against the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday.
The Mets are 13-11 and sit in the middle of the NL East standings behind both the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies.
The early MLB expert picks are on the Mets to come out on top in this series. New York is the favorite in the series opener, listed at -126 on the moneyline compared to St. Louis at +116. The over/under for the game has been set at eight runs, with -110 odds on both sides of that bet.
This series starts with a 7:10 p.m. ET first pitch on Friday in a game that can be seen on Apple TV+. Saturday’s contest is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. ET and can be seen nationally on FOX. Sunday’s series finale is set for a 1:40 p.m. ET first pitch.
Game 1
Cardinals vs Mets 
Records: St. Louis Cardinals (11-14), New York Mets (13-11)
Day/Time:
Location: Citi Field, Queens, New York
Streaming: Apple TV+
Pitching Matchups
Game 1
- Miles Mikolas (St. Louis) vs Jose Butto (New York)
Veteran right-hander Miles Mikolas will get the start in the series opener for the Cardinals, bringing a 1-3 record and 6.49 ERA to the mound.
Mikolas has allowed five earned runs in each of his last two starts, failing to get out of the fifth inning in either one. Against the Milwaukee Brewers last Saturday, the 35-year-old allowed nine hits, including three home runs, in a 12-5 St. Louis setback.
New York will have righty Jose Butto getting the start as he looks for his first decision of the 2024 MLB season. Butto is 0-0 with a 1.65 ERA in three starts, allowing just three earned runs over 16.1 innings of work.
The 26-year-old has also struck out 21 over that span while walking nine.
âš¾ Game 2 âš¾
- Sonny Gray (St. Louis) vs Adrian Houser (New York)
Another veteran – typical of the St. Louis starting rotation – will get the nod for Saturday’s second game, as right-hander Sonny Gray makes his fourth start in a Cardinals uniform. Gray, who came to the team in the offseason from the Minnesota Twins, is 2-1 with a 1.04 ERA, striking out 23 in 17.1 innings. He allowed his first two runs of the season in his last start, facing Milwaukee on Sunday, going 6.1 innings and giving up five hits while striking out 12.
Righty Adrian Houser will be on the mound for Saturday’s contest for the Mets. Houser is 0-2 with a 7.45 ERA in four starts this season, striking out 12 and walking 14 in 19.1 innings. Houser is coming off an ugly outing against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday, going four innings and allowing eight runs on seven hits and four walks.
âš¾ Game 3 âš¾
- Lance Lynn (St. Louis) vs Jose Quintana (New York)
Right-hander Lance Lynn to start the series finale for St. Louis on Sunday. The 36-year-old is 1-0 with a 2.81 ERA in five starts this season, striking out 26 in 25.2 innings. Lynn went five innings in his last start, facing the Diamondbacks on Monday and allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out seven.
The Mets will counter with lefty Jose Quintana to close out the series. The 35-year-old is 1-2 with a 4.21 ERA in five starts but is coming off his worst outing of the season. Facing the Giants on Monday, Quintana allowed five runs on seven hits over five innings of work, striking out four and walking three.
Whose Offense Can Put It Together?
There are big-name MLB players in both lineups in this series. But they haven’t been playing to their usual high standards so far this season. St. Louis has struggled as a team at the plate, batting just .220 to rank near the bottom of the MLB stats. New York is batting .246, so it’s not doing a whole lot better.
First baseman Paul Goldschmidt has really had trouble getting going at the plate for the Cardinals this season. The former NL MVP is batting just .200 with a double, two home runs, nine RBI and nine runs scored. All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado is starting to put it together, batting .295 with six doubles, a home run, 12 RBI and eight runs scored.
Mets first baseman Pete Alonso has been solid this season, though his success has come in spurts. He’s batting .263 with a four-game hitting streak. He has three doubles, seven home runs, 12 RBI, and 19 runs scored. But he has just one home run in his last 10 MLB games, driving in just two runs over that stretch.
Mets Eke Out Series Win
Our Cardinals vs Mets series preview has highlighted some of the troubles with both clubs heading into this weekend’s set. St. Louis hasn’t been consistent on the mound or at the plate. Thus, it’s been on the short end of a lot of MLB scores this season.
New York is just 6-6 at Citi Field this season, but it should be above .500 on its home field after this three-game series. When you’re doing your MLB betting this weekend, put your wagers on the Mets in each of the three games against the Cardinals.
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