Round 2 of Sunday Night Baseball is a good one when the St. Louis Cardinals match up with the Detroit Tigers.
The Tigers will aim for a sweep and have a good opportunity to do it with a converted reliever still finding his footing as a starter on the mound for the Cardinals.
My Cardinals vs. Tigers predictions and MLB picks break down the matchup and why we’re backing the Tigers on Sunday, April 5.
Who will win Cardinals vs Tigers today: Tigers (-132)
This game presents a nice conundrum. While I’m slightly less bullish on the Detroit Tigers than the market and believe in the St. Louis Cardinals, I also hate this matchup for converted reliever Kyle Leahey.
Ultimately, I sided with the Tigers, seeing about eight cents of value.
Transitioning to Leahey's strengths, he wants to be a dominant groundball pitcher. He posted a Top 40 percentile groundball rate last season and showed some signs of improvement, even in an awful debut against the Mets.
However, this Tigers lineup excels at avoiding ground balls, with the lowest groundball rate in the sport last season and among the league leaders in line drives.
COVERS INTEL: Keider Montero's Bottom 2% breaking ball run value (-12) was the worst among Detroit's starting pitchers last season.
Cardinals vs Tigers Over/Under pick: Over 8.5 (+105)
I have more conviction here, aided by a brisk wind that will blow out to left field. Neither of these pitchers will miss many bats. Leahey’s is mostly by design, and Montero just doesn’t have much swing-and-miss stuff.
The former’s whiff rate sat at the Bottom 11 percent of baseball last season, with some troubling metrics surrounding that.
His 4.67 xERA and .260 xBA tell you the ball is in play constantly, and this Cardinals offense has shown some signs of improvement compared to last season, as they’ll arrive at this game rating fifth in the majors in solid contact rate.
Solid contact may be all it takes for them to push this Over with the wind and the Tigers pushing runs across themselves.
- ML/RL bets: 2-1, +1.29 units
- Over/Under bets: 4-0, +4.04 units
Cardinals vs Tigers odds
- Moneyline: St. Louis +115 | Detroit -135
- Run line: St. Louis +1.5 (-180) | Detroit -1.5 (+150)
- Over/Under: Over 8.5 | Under 8.5
Cardinals vs Tigers trend
The Tigers have cashed the first five team total Over in 38 of their last 60 home games for +15.85 units and a 23% ROI. Find more MLB betting trends for Cardinals vs. Tigers.
How to watch Cardinals vs Tigers and game info
| Location | Comerica Park, Detroit, MI |
| Date | Sunday, April 5, 2026 |
| First pitch | 7:20 p.m. ET |
| TV | Peacock |
| Cardinals starting pitcher | Kyle Leahy (0-1, 7.20 ERA) |
| Tigers starting pitcher | Keider Montero (2025: 5-3, 4.37 ERA) |
Cardinals vs Tigers latest injuries
Cardinals vs Tigers weather
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
