The St. Louis Cardinals have the brooms ready this afternoon, looking to sweep the Boston Red Sox out of town.
It’s a battle of two fourth-place teams in their respective divisions, but trending in very different directions. While the Cardinals have won five of six, Boston has just four wins across its last 15 games.
Yet somehow, the Red Sox are -118 moneyline road favorites in the MLB odds. Can the Cardinals string together their first 3-game sweep of the season? Read below for my Red Sox vs. Cardinals predictions and MLB picks.
Red Sox vs Cardinals prediction
My best bet
Red Sox moneyline (-118 at FanDuel)
My analysis
Not only are the St. Louis Cardinals enjoying their best run of 2024, but it also happens to coincide with their best scoring binge of the year. After its 7-2 win over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday, St Louis has scored 4+ runs in each of the five wins, tallying 7+ runs three different times.
This is a ball club that sits 27th in runs scored while hanging middle-of-the-pack numbers in hitting and on-base percentage, with Bottom-10 placements in both slugging and OPS. Some offense would be helpful for Matthew Liberatore, who will move from the bullpen to make his third start this season.
Liberatore never made it through four complete innings in either of his previous starts and was tagged for four earned runs on five hits against the Angels last time out.
Pitching has been one of the only things keeping the Red Sox afloat and even near .500 this season, with a team ERA of 3.03 that ranks second in baseball behind only the Yankees. However, there’s been some slippage over the last 15 days, with that number ballooning to 4.07, 13th over that span.
That elite-to-average drop is more noticeable when you see what the offense has delivered. The BoSox are 25th in runs scored, Bottom 5 in on-base percentage, and Bottom 10 in OPS.
The hope is Nick Pivetta can get things back on track. It will be just his fifth start of the year, but he’s coming off a sturdy outing last time out against the Rays, going 5 2/3 innings of four-hit ball, surrendering two earned runs and striking out eight.
St. Louis has ripped off five straight wins in this head-to-head but this is far from a juggernaut. The Cards are just 8-11 at home this season, and even with this current hot streak, still sit at just 20-25.
Boston’s 4-game slide matches its longest of the campaign. It’s already a series loss for them, but I like the Red Sox to escape with a win on getaway day.
Red Sox vs Cardinals same-game parlay (SGP)
Red Sox moneyline
Connor Wong 2+ hits
Paul Goldschmidt to score a run
While he did get blanked on the scorecard Friday against the Cardinals, that’s more of the exception than the norm right now for catcher Connor Wong.
In 11 games this month, he's recorded a hit in eight of them, with multi-hit performances in four. Most recently, he went 4-for-5 with a double and RBI against STL in this series. This is the first time he'll be facing Liberatore, but righties are tagging him with a .314 average. A multi-hit effort is not out of the question.
Goldschmidt has had success in a limited sample against Pivetta, with four hits in nine career at-bats, including a home run. In eight games against the Red Sox as a member of the Cardinals, Goldschmidt has scored a run in four of them. We’re betting he makes that five on Sunday.
Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.
Red Sox vs Cardinals odds
Red Sox vs Cardinals live odds
Red Sox vs Cardinals opening odds
- Run line: Boston -1.5 (+130) | St. Louis +1.5 (-155)
- Moneyline: Boston -115 | St. Louis -105
- Over/Under: Over 8.5 | Under 8.5
Red Sox vs Cardinals spread and Over/Under analysis
- Nine of the Cardinals' last 10 games have gone Over the total.
- Boston has been the moneyline favorite in nine straight games against St Louis but is just 3-6 in those games.
- The Over has hit in seven of the last eight head-to-head matchups.
Red Sox vs Cardinals trend
The Red Sox are 12-9 as moneyline favorites this season. Find more MLB betting trends for Red Sox vs. Cardinals
Red Sox vs Cardinals game info
| Location: | Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO |
| Date: | Sunday, 5-19-2024 |
| First pitch: | 1:05 p.m. ET |
| TV: | Roku |
| Red Sox starting pitcher: | Kutter Crawford (2-2, 2.24 ERA) |
| Cardinals starting pitcher: | Miles Mikolas (3-5, 6.19 ERA) |
Red Sox vs Cardinals latest injuries
Red Sox vs Cardinals weather
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