MLB Betting: St Louis Looks To Pad Stats vs Atlanta

For some teams, the final series of the regular season is an opportunity to go out and have a little bit of fun before the serious business of the postseason begins. The St. Louis Cardinals will end the season with the best record in baseball, and will get to have some fun and pad their stats when they head to Atlanta to face the Braves on Friday where they’re listed as favorites on MLB betting odds to take the match.

Cardinals @ Braves: MLB Betting Preview

Date: Friday, October 02, 2015 Time: 7:35PM Venue: Turner Field Opening Line: Cardinals -139

St. Louis Cardinals 2015 National League Central Champs! pic.twitter.com/ypsH0ZatI4

— Yadier Molina (@Yadimolina04) October 1, 2015

The division win by the Cardinals (100-59) is impressive for a number of different reasons. Number one is that fact that they had to do it despite losing a number of key players throughout the season, and secondly because they were pushed to the limit by the Pittsburgh Pirates, who currently have the second best record in baseball. St. Louis made a statement when they took out the Pirates to finally clinch the division, as they may well have to face them in the playoffs, assuming of course that the Steel City men can dispose of the Chicago Cubs in the Wild Card game. The Cardinals are 7-3 in their last 10 games, and will want to put on a good show in the ATL so that they can enter the postseason on a bit of a roll. Jaime Garcia (10-5, 2.36 ERA) will get the start for St. Louis. While the Cardinals have been locking up a 100-win season, the Braves have been working hard to avoid their first 100-loss season since 1988. They managed to do that by taking the first 2 games of their series against the Washington Nationals. It has been an expectedly poor season for the rebuilding Braves, but they have shown a little bit of tenacity in September, with some of their young guys getting the opportunity to shine. The expectation is that there will be more of the same next year, as the Braves wait for the construction of their new stadium to be completed. It’s a time for patience in a city that has become accustomed to seeing their ball club win. Julio Teheran (10-8, 4.16 ERA) will be on the mound for the Braves.

Key Betting Trends

St. Louis is 7-2-1 SU in its last 10 games St. Louis is 6-2-1 SU in its last 9 games on the road The total has gone OVER in 5 of Atlanta’s last 7 games Atlanta is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home Atlanta is 6-14 SU in its last 20 games at home The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Atlanta’s last 5 games at home

So, What Should You Bet On?

While the Cardinals may not field all of their top talent, they still have enough depth to get a win here, albeit in what I think will be a close one.