NL Central Showdown
The National League Central will be a two-team race this summer, and Monday’s series opener at American Family Field is the next installment of the rivalry between the co-leading St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers. The best pitching matchup of the series is in the opener. Miles Mikolas makes his first start for the Cardinals since nearly completing a no-hitter and will be opposed by reigning Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes.
Let’s check the latest MLB picks, stats, injury reports and MLB odds for Cardinals vs Brewers. We’ve plenty of MLB predictions.
Cardinals Coming Off Series Loss
Fenway Park offered up one of the best series of the weekend with the St. Louis Cardinals invading the home of the surging Red Sox. The Cardinals ran it up in an 11-2 win Saturday night, but dropped two of three in their second series loss against an American League East team this month.
The Cardinals have still won six of their last 10, and one of those wins was a 9-1 rout of Pittsburgh last week in which Mikolas was in control. A liner just over the outstretched glove of center fielder Harrison Bader with two outs in the ninth prevented Mikolas from recording the first no-hitter for St. Louis in 21 years and the team’s first at home since 1983.
What might be more of interest to those betting online at the sportsbook, however, is the fact that Mikolas threw a career-high 129 pitches. It was just the 19th time in his career he’s thrown more than 100 pitches and only the second in which he’s tossed at least 110. His previous career high was 115, which happened earlier this season. Mikolas was less than sharp in his next outing, tying a season high with three walks and serving up a three-run homer in the first inning of a five-inning start at Wrigley Field.
Consider some Mikolas fatigue as a potential factor when analyzing the MLB lines for this one.
Brewers Resurgent
A visit to last-place Cincinnati was just what the doctor ordered for the Milwaukee Brewers, who turned around a recent 2-10 spell with a three-game sweep of the Reds over the weekend.
The Brewers outhomered Cincinnati by a 7-3 margin and a Milwaukee staff that had some hiccups during the recent slump was solid. The Brewers’ team ERA over their last seven games is 2.95.
Burnes is an excellent candidate to keep that run going against a Cardinals team that he already dominated once this season. In 29 innings over five starts vs St. Louis the last two years, the right-hander has a 1.24 ERA with a sparkling 39-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 29 innings.
Cardinals vs Brewers Head-to-Head
The season series is tied 4-4 after the teams split a pair of four-game sets earlier in the season. The Cardinals haven’t lost a season series to the Brewers since 2018.
Cardinals vs Brewers Game Information
- Game: Cardinals (38-30) vs Brewers (38-30)
- Location: American Family Field, Milwaukee
- Day/Time: Monday, 8:10 p.m. ET
- Cardinals vs Brewers Live Stream: MLB.TV
Cardinals vs Brewers Betting Lines
| Team | Handicap | Moneyline | Total | Team Total |
| St. Louis Cardinals
M. Mikolas -R |
+1½ -155 |
+145
|
7½ -120o | 3½ +105o
3½ -135u |
| Milwaukee Brewers
C. Burnes -R |
-1½ +135 | -165 |
7½ Evu
|
4½ +115o
4½ -145u |
Cardinals vs Brewers Prediction
Make no mistake, the St. Louis Cardinals are a solid baseball team. But there are too many items stacked against them in this one. Not only are the Brewers streaking, but they have their ace on the mound in Burnes, who dominates the Cardinals (with the exception of Paul Goldschmidt, who is 8-for-21 against him).
Additionally, Mikolas will be hard-pressed to duplicate his prior performance, or to come even close, after such a long outing in his previous start. St. Louis figures to be without middle-of-the-order bat Tyler O’Neill, who left Sunday’s game in Boston with a hamstring injury.
The Brewers have hurt bettors on run line bets much of the season, but this looks like one to jump on.
The odds and predictions in the article are based on time of writing and publication. They may differ as to when the actual event takes place.
