Game Time: 4:15 pm ET, Monday, September, 5th, 2022

Venue: Busch Stadium, St Louis, Missouri

Where to Watch: MLB.tv (free)

DraftKings: Moneyline:  Nationals +215, Cardinals -256; O/U 8

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  

PointsBet:  Moneyline: 

 

Nationals: 46-87, 5th place NL East

Cardinals: 78-55, 1st place NL Central

A National League matchup between the worst team in the NL East and the best team in the NL Central.  There is a trick to a statement like that… which is that the best team in the NL Central has built a majority of their wins against the terrible NL Central… still they are winners, but still the numbers are a bit fugazzi.  The Washington Nationals are a team that has pulled off a 4 season long complete dismantling of a special World Series winning team.  All the stars of that team are gone… They are all balling for other teams.  They are all making big money elsewhere.  The Nationals have no excuse except that the price of poker is simply too big for them.  The Cardinals are a super fun watch at the moment.  Albert Pujols, who left a decade ago for big paychecks to waste his career in Anaheim California with the awful Angels.  No shame… I would have taken the money too… and twice on Sunday.  However Albert is back for the sole purpose of retiring a Cardinal… plus he is 6 home runs away from 700 for his career… so every time he pops one over the wall… we all get to cheer as if we have witnessed a bit of history.  So… it’s simply fun.

The Washington nationals have won 5 of their last 10 games… a good stretch for a team that is 31 losses below .500.  It helps that they played a steady stream of other scrub teams during the stretch.  This Nationals team is simply the worst pitching in baseball.  They are getting creative by using the pitching mound as an audition stage for minor league call-ups and former middle relievers.  They went 1-1 against the New York Mets (with 1 left to play), 2-1 against the Oakland Athletics, 1-2 against the Cincinnati Reds, and 1-1 against the Seattle Mariners.  I wonder if they popped champagne after getting a win against the Mets?

The St Louis Cardinals have won 7 of their last 10 games.  The positive vibes are rolling through Busch Stadium.  The team leans heavily on Paul Goldschmidt who leads them in homers, BA, and OPS… with names dotting the lineup like Arenado, Pujols, and Yadier Molina it feels like a blast from the recent past…. But these guys are still good and effective.  They went 2-0 against the Chicago Cubs, 2-1 against the Cincinnati Reds, 2-1 against the Atlanta Braves, and 1-1 against the Chicago Cubs.

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The Nationals are 26th in scoring with 3.73 runs per game, 12th in batting average with .247, and 18th in OBP with .312.

The Cardinals are 2nd in scoring with 4.96 runs per game, 6th in batting average with .258, and 2nd in OBp with .331.

The Nationals pitchers are 30th in ERA with 5.11, 28th in WHIP with 1.45, and their fielders are 28th in errors with 82 on the season so far.

The Cardinals pitchers are 11th in ERA with 3.78, 15th in WHIP with 1.25, and their fielders are 2nd in errors (really really good) with 56 on the season so far.

Our prediction for Monday, September 5th is…  Cards 5 - Nationals 1

The Cardinals will make a sport of tagging Nationals pitching.  They will keep the fun rolling and are worth a bet on the moneyline any way you look at the numbers.

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Nationals: LF Y Hernandez (calf) Out ** SS C Kieboom (elbow) Out 

Cards: No major injuries to report… just a few pitchers out

Nationals: RHP Anibal Sanchez, 1-5, 5.05 ERA, 32 strikeouts in 46 innings pitched. 1.32 WHIP

Cardinals: RHP Jack Flaherty, 0-0, 5.63 ERA, 6 strikeouts in 8 innings pitched.  2.13 WHIP.  Starting Jack signals a Cardinals bullpen game which is actually a strength of theirs.  This 26 year old has had very limited time this season, but overall has good numbers since his debut in 2017.  

Nationals: 2B Luis Garcia, RF Joey Meneses, 1B Luke Voit, DH Nelson Cruz, C Keibert Ruiz, CF Lane Thomas, SS CJ Abrams, 3B Ildemaro Vargas, LF Joshua Palacios

Cards: 2B Tommy Edman, LF Tyler O’Neill, 1B Paul Goldschmidt, 3B Nolan Arenado, DH Albert Pujols, RF Yadier Molina, SS Paul De Young, CF Ben DeLuzio, 

Nationals: Dave “what do I do now” Martinez

Cards: Oliver “not a rodent” Marmol

Scattered Thunderstorms, 80*, Humidity 84%, chance of precipitation 60%.  There will be a lot of water in the air. Hopefully it doesn’t delay or postpone the game.