The St. Louis Cardinals have climbed to the top of the NL Central and are a team to watch through the season’s final stretch.
SportsGrid will follow the Cards closely over the final two months of the MLB season and offer a weekly update, which has plenty of betting implications for how things finish out in the two-horse race NL Central. Not only will we be looking toward their upcoming series, but we’ll also be tracking their divisional odds, playoff odds, and World Series odds along the way.
Over the weekend, the Cardinals picked up a crucial series victory over the Milwaukee Brewers and won two-of-three games, giving them a 1.5-game lead in the NL Central.
This week in St. Louis Cardinals action:
There are no current odds for the St. Louis Cardinals ahead of their series this week with the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks. These are two matchups where the Cards will be favorites to win both series, which we will likely see in the opening odds.
NL Central Odds: Cardinals to Win NL Central (-230) (Last week: -210)A series victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on the weekend certainly didn’t hinder the Red Birds’ divisional aspirations. The Cards saw their NL Central odds bet down from their -210 odds last week, with the number now sitting at -230. It’s hard to get behind a price like that where there isn’t any value, but the Cardinals have the makings of a team that should find themselves in this position down the stretch, so the oddsmakers have them listed as appropriate-sized favorites. The value likely sides with the Brewers, but it’s hard to have a ton of faith in them with how they are currently playing.
Playoff Odds: Cardinals to Make Playoffs (-600) (Last week: -340)Once again, the value isn’t there for the Cardinals. It’s hard to make a profit when you’re seeing the line shift from the Cardinals making the playoffs at -340 to -600 this week. That happens when the team wins a big series against their most significant competitor in the NL Central. Still, the Cards have a path through the Wild Card even if the Brew Crew gets hot down the stretch. In addition, St. Louis has the second easiest remaining schedule, behind the Seattle Mariners. That is undoubtedly built into this price, which is not appetizing for bettors.
World Series Odds: Cardinals to Win World Series (+3500) (Last week: +3500)This line is where things get interesting. Is there value with the Cardinals right now for their World Series odds? Probably. Still, they aren’t a juggernaut by any means, but they do have a nucleus that could do damage in October. Their odds of +3500 haven’t moved over the last week, and the most significant factor for St. Louis will likely be starting pitching. Jordan Montgomery could be a key to that if he can continue to pitch like a number two starter in the rotation. He has performed well in his first two appearances for the Cards, pitching 11 innings and allowing no earned runs. You already know what you’ll get from Adam Wainwright when games start to matter, but there were questions about who the Cards could turn to in a seven-game series past their ace, Montgomery, and Miles Mikolas, could answer those questions.
