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Cardinals Look to Stay Hot vs Frustrated Padres

The San Diego Padres try to avoid a third straight loss when they take on the St. Louis Cardinals in the last of a three-game series on Sunday. The first pitch is scheduled for 2:15 p.m. ET at Busch Stadium.

San Diego is 76-72 and in third place in the NL West. San Diego is 2½ games behind the Cardinals for the second Wild-Card spot in the National League.

Yu Darvish pitches during the first San Diego Padres vs Arizona Cardinals Picks
Jeff Curry/Getty Images/AFP

The Cardinals have won seven straight after Saturday’s come-from-behind 3-2 victory. St. Louis is 78-69 and in second place in the NL Central, two games ahead of the third-place Cincinnati Reds. The Cardinals currently lead the race for the second National League Wild-Card spot, leading the Reds by two games and the Padres and Philadelphia Phillies by 2½ games.

MLB lines have the Cardinals with a moneyline of -108, while the Padres are listed at -102, with the over/under set at 9½ runs.

Frustrating Weekend

The Padres led for much of the first 7½ innings of Saturday’s game, looking to make up a game in the Wild-Card standings on the Cardinals, but three runs by St. Louis in the bottom of the eighth put San Diego on the losing end of the contest. The team’s frustrations boiled over during the game, as manager Jayce Tingler was ejected arguing with the plate umpire after a Fernando Tatis Jr. strikeout in the fifth inning.

Tatis was upset with the umpire as well but stayed in the game. After the half-inning, Tatis and Manny Machado had to be separated by teammates as Machado shouted and cursed at Tatis, telling him “it’s not about you” and “you go play baseball.”

“It’s not viewed negatively,” Tingler said after Saturday’s loss. “We’re a family. We’re not going to discuss the details, but we care. There’s passion. There’s frustration. Those are all emotions that are natural, and those things happen.”

Tatis was 1-for-4 with the strikeout in the loss, making him 1-for-8 in the two games of this important series. He had gone 6-for-8 with a double, a home run, an RBI and three runs scored in the previous two games.

Right-hander Jake Arrieta will get the start. The 35-year-old is 5-13 with a 7.05 ERA, splitting time between the Cubs and the Padres.

Arrieta is 0-2 with an 8.25 ERA in three starts with San Diego spanning 12 innings. He has allowed at least three runs and a home run in each of those three appearances.

Coming Through

The Cardinals had a number of chances to score on Saturday night but couldn’t come up with the big hit to drive in a run. Until the eighth, when Tyler O’Neill’s two-run home run gave the Cardinals the lead.

It was the third time in four games that O’Neill has hit a home run, and he’s batting .328 in September with four doubles, seven home runs and 15 RBIs. The 26-year-old is batting .375 against San Diego this season, hitting a double and three home runs while driving in six.

Veteran left-hander J.A. Happ will try to lead the Cardinals to the series sweep. The 38-year-old is 9-8 with a 6.00 ERA, coming to St. Louis in a midseason trade from the Minnesota Twins.

Happ is 4-2 with a 4.08 ERA in eight starts with the Cardinals. He got a win in his last start against Cincinnati on Sept. 12, throwing 5⅓ scoreless innings while allowing just two hits. That snapped a personal two-game losing streak for Happ, who has an 8.74 ERA in three September starts.

Cardinals Complete Sweep

While the Padres’ talent level may be better than the Cardinals’, San Diego is just not playing well as a team, and the frustration from not living up to high expectations this season is really coming out. Meanwhile, St. Louis is feeling great about its chances at a playoff berth and is playing with a ton of confidence right now.

When doing your MLB betting, take St. Louis to win at home.

Pick: St. Louis Cardinals -108

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