Washington Nationals vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction MLB Picks 7/26/24

Cardinals are Second in the Central 

The St. Louis Cardinals are 53-49 this year and they have won three of their last five games. St. Louis is coming off of a series loss against Pittsburgh, where they lost two out of three games. Prior to that series, the Cardinals won two out of three against the Braves, split four games with the Cubs, and lost both games against the Royals. St. Louis is 5-7 in their last 12 games and they are second in the NL Central. 

The St. Louis pitching staff has a 3.96 ERA, a 1.26 WHIP, and a .250 opponent batting average. The Cardinals offense has scored 418 runs with a .245 batting average and a .309 on base percentage. Nolan Gorman is batting .207 with 19 home runs and 50 RBI’s for the Cardinals this season. St. Louis has scored two runs or fewer in four of their last six games. 

Starting Pitchers

The projected starting pitcher for Washington is MacKenzie Gore, who is 6-8 with a 4.20 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP over 100.2 innings pitched this season. Gore has allowed at least three earned runs in four of his last five outings. The projected starting pitcher for St. Louis is Sonny Gray, who is 10-6 with a 3.54 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP over 106.2 innings pitched this year. Gray has allowed at least three earned runs in four consecutive starts. 

Why the Cardinals will beat the Nationals

• The Cardinals have won 17 of their last 18 games as favorites against NL East opponents following a road loss.
• The Nationals have lost each of their last four games against National League opponents that held a winning record.
• The Cardinals have covered the run line in each of their last six games as favorites against the Nationals following a loss.
• The Nationals have failed to cover the run line each of their last four games against National League opponents that held a winning record.

Total Runs Facts

• Each of the Cardinals' last five games as favorites against the Nationals have gone OVER the total runs line.
• Each of the Nationals' last four games as underdogs against NL Central opponents have gone OVER the total runs line.
• The 'Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs' market has hit in each of the Cardinals' last four games against National League opponents.
• The 'Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs' market has hit in each of the Nationals' last three road games.

St. Louis Cardinals Player Prop Facts

• Willson Contreras has hit a home run in three of the Cardinals' last four night games against opponents that held a losing record.
• Willson Contreras has recorded an RBI in each of his last five appearances with his team as a home favorite against the Nationals.
• Paul Goldschmidt has scored at least one run in each of the Cardinals' last six games against the Nationals.
• Willson Contreras has recorded at least one Single in each of his last eight Friday night appearances against teams that held a losing record.
• Sonny Gray has recorded six or more strikeouts in nine of his last 10 appearances with his team as a home favorite against NL opponents.
• Brendan Donovan has recorded two or more total bases in each of the Cardinals' last six games against the Nationals at Busch Stadium.
• Willson Contreras has recorded at least one hit in each of his last 10 appearances in night games against NL teams that held a losing record.

Washington Nationals Player Prop Facts

• Luis Garcia has hit a home run in three of his last five road appearances against NL Central opponents that held a winning record.
• CJ Abrams has recorded two or more total bases in each of the Nationals' last nine games as underdogs against the Cardinals.
• CJ Abrams has scored at least one run in seven of the Nationals' last eight road games against NL Central opponents.
• Lane Thomas has recorded at least one Single in each of the Nationals' last five road games.
• CJ Abrams has recorded at least one hit in each of the Nationals' last nine games as underdogs against the Cardinals.
• Joey Meneses has recorded at least one RBI in four of the Nationals' last five games against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

Washington Nationals vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction 

St. Louis hasn’t played their best baseball over the last two weeks, but they are still second in the NL Central and they are four games over .500. The Cardinals are 26-22 at home this year, while the Nationals are 24-29 on the road. Washington is coming off of a very bad offensive series against San Diego, but they will face Sonny Gray, who has had some troubles recently. The Nationals are going with MacKenzie Gore, who has had an up and down season, but does have an elevated WHIP. Neither pitcher has been very good recently, but we know Sonny Gray is capable of much more than he has shown recently and I think he will bounce back here. My Washington Nationals vs St. Louis Cardinals prediction is for the Cardinals to win by at least two runs.