St Louis Cardinals vs Atlanta Braves Prediction, Preview and Odds - 07/20/2024

Game Time: 7:20 pm ET, Saturday, July 20, 2024

Venue:  Truist Park, Atlanta, GA

Where to Watch:  BSSE

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Cardinals +124, Braves -148; Over/Under:  9 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Cardinals +125, Braves -150; Over/Under:  9 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Cardinals +125, Braves -150; Over/Under:  9 runs

St Louis Cardinals:  50-46 (2nd place, NL Central)

Atlanta Braves:  53-42 (2nd place, NL East)

Do not miss out on our expert handicapper analysis! AAA Sports is on a HOT STREAK in the MLB on an 18-7 MLB RUN for +$8,260 PROFIT! Make sure you check out his picks and many more from the expert handicappers featured in the Shop Picks section.

St Louis Cardinals:  5-5 last 10

Atlanta Braves:  6-4 last 10

The Cardinals are entering this series off a loss and split their 4-game series against the Chicago Cubs 2-2 in their last series. They enter this game with a 50-46 record overall and have a road record of 24-24. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Braves on Saturday with the series opener of this series still to be played on Friday. Their offense ranks 19th in the MLB with a .694 OPS. Sonny Gray is their starting pitcher on Friday while Kyle Gibson is making his start in this game on Saturday. He is 7-3 with a 4.16 ERA this season. His team won their last 3 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 4 ER, 1 HR, and 2 BB with 3 Ks on 10 hits through 4 IP against the Chicago Cubs.

The Braves are entering this series off a win and won their 3-game series against the San Diego Padres 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 53-42 record overall and have a home record of 29-17. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Cardinals on Saturday with the 1st game of this series still to be played on Friday. Their offense ranks 14th in the MLB with a .709 OPS. Rookie pitcher Spencer Schwellenbach is their starting pitcher on Friday while Charlie Morton is making his start in this game on Saturday. He is 5-5 with a 4.07 ERA this season. His team lost their last 2 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 4 earned runs, 2 homers, and 0 BB with 5 strikeouts on 5 hits through 6.1 innings played against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The current betting odds have the Cardinals listed as an underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Braves have looked good in their games this season with their 53-42 record overall which has them in 2nd place of the NL East and fighting for a Wild Card spot. They have looked great in their home games this year with their 29-17 home record and they have been getting hot going into the All-Star break, going in at 6-4 in their last 10 games. Meanwhile, the Cardinals have looked good in their games this season with their 50-46 record overall which has them in 2nd place of the NL Central and fighting for a playoff spot again after a terrible start to the season. They haven't looked as good in their road games though with their 24-24 road record. The Cardinals will have Gibson on the mound here and he is 7-3 with a 4.16 ERA. He hasn't been lights out this season as he did give up 4 earned runs in his last start, but the team has been finding success with him since he does have 7 wins credited to him this year and the team has also won 3 games in a row with him starting. The Braves are going to have Morton on the mound here and he hasn't looked great in his starts this season. He is 5-5 with a 4.07 ERA and he also gave up 4 earned runs in his last start. He has been consistently giving up runs all year just like Gibson has been, but the Braves have lost 2 games in a row with Morton starting as they haven't been finding the same success with him. The Braves don't have a top 10 offense in the MLB either so the Cardinals can match them here as they went into the break putting up some runs in their games. The Cardinals usually get hot in the 2nd half of the season too and now they have played themselves into a playoff position which will motivate them out of the All-Star break. The best way to place a bet here is on the Cardinals to win this game. 

Cardinals Braves Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Saturday, July 20, 2024 (7:20 pm ET start time) is Cardinals 7 Braves 6.

Don't miss our champion handicappers free picks, best bets, and expert baseball picks today.  And if you enjoyed this St Louis Cardinals Atlanta Braves prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our daily MLB projections and previews.

St Louis Cardinals: 21-27 (-10.40 units) on the first 5 runline in their last 48 away games. 18-8 to the over in their last 26 games. 17-9 to the over with their team total in their last 26 away games. 

Atlanta Braves: 11-5 (+3.20 units) on the moneyline in their last 16 home games. 8-8 (+1.35 units) on the runline in their last 16 home games. 

St Louis Cardinals:  M. Siani (CF) Ques Fri - Elbow. S. Matz (SP) Out indefinitely - Back. K. Middleton (RP) Out indefinitely - Forearm. R. O'Brien (SP) Out indefinitely - Elbow. T. Edman (SS) Late May - Wrist. D. Rom (SP) Out indefinitely - Shoulder.

Atlanta Braves:  R. Laureano (CF) Out indefinitely - Back. R. Kerr (RP) out for season - Elbow. H. Waldrep (SP) Out indefinitely - Elbow. H. Ynoa (SP) Out indefinitely - Elbow. M. Harris II (LF) Out indefinitely - Hamstring. S. Strider (SP) out for season - Elbow. R. Acuna Jr. (RF) out for season - Lower Body. J. Herget (SP) Out indefinitely - Shoulder. T. Matzek (RP) Out indefinitely - Elbow.

“It was a good, tough series.” - Ryan Helsley after their loss against the Cubs in their game on Sunday.

"Talking to him, he was good with just going the five, which I think worked out pretty good. I am really glad we hung on and got him the win." - Brian Snitker on Chris Sale after his team’s win against the Padres in their game on Sunday.

M Winn (R) SS

A Burleson (L) RF

P Goldschmidt (R) 1B

B Donovan (L) LF

N Arenado (R) DH

L Nootbaar (L) CF

N Gorman (L) 2B

P Pagés (R) C

B Crawford (L) 3B

J Kelenic (L) CF

O Albies (S) 2B

A Riley (R) 3B

M Olson (L) 1B

M Ozuna (R) DH

T d'Arnaud (R) C

E Rosario (L) LF

A Duvall (R) RF

O Arcia (R) SS

Batting Average:  Alec Burleson (.288)

Hits:  Brendan Donovan (98)

Home Runs:  Nolan Gorman (17)

RBI:  Alec Burleson (53)

Stolen Bases:  Michael Siani (10)

Wins:  Sonny Gray (9)

Saves:  Ryan Helsley (32)

ERA:  Ryan Loutos (0.00)

Batting Average:  Marcell Ozuna (.303)

Hits:  Marcell Ozuna (107)

Home Runs:  Marcell Ozuna (26)

RBI:  Marcell Ozuna (77)

Stolen Bases:  Ronald Acuña (16)

Wins:  Chris Sale (13)

Saves:  Raisel Iglesias (22)

ERA:  AJ Smith-Shawver (0.00)

Managers:

St Louis Cardinals: Oliver Marmol (3rd season)

Atlanta Braves: Brian Snitker (9th season)