The Toronto Blue Jays can complete the sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals with a win on Roberto Clemente Day.
The pregame narrative: St. Louis’ wild-card hopes are slipping away, and I expect the Cards to slip even further out of the NL race on Sunday. I’m betting on Toronto to earn another win and for it to be a low-scoring ball game.
Check out the best Blue Jays picks vs. the Cardinals on Sept. 15.
Blue Jays picks vs. Cardinals
Best Bet: Blue Jays moneyline (-125)
Toronto isn’t playing for anything with the season drawing to a close, but it is playing stronger baseball lately.
The Blue Jays are on the verge of sweeping the Cardinals as their bats have come alive. They’re averaging 4.71 runs per game across their last seven, winning four of those contests.
Having one of the league’s best bats in Vladimir Guerrero Jr. doesn’t hurt. The superstar first baseman has been one of the lone bright spots on a squad that doesn’t have much else going for it.
Guerrero is seventh in OPS (.939), third in on-base percentage (.394) and tied for 20th in home runs (28).
Picking on St. Louis starter Miles Mikolas isn’t such a bad idea, either. Mikolas combines a 5.55 ERA with a 4.20 FIP, and those numbers are slipping fast for the veteran. He’s allowed 13 earned runs across 11.2 innings in his last three appearances.
Yariel Rodriguez’s play is improving. He has pitched eight innings in two starts this month, holding opposing batters to one run and a .185 batting average.
Bet on Toronto pulling out a win and earning the sweep.
Key stat: St. Louis has lost four of its last six games, including Mikolas’ most recent start.
Quick pick
Under 8.5 runs (-112): I’m not expecting the Cardinals to contribute much to this total.
This is one of the most anemic offences in the league. The Cards rank 24th in runs per game (4.09) and don’t find themselves in great form ahead of this contest.
St. Louis has scored two runs or fewer in five of its last eight outings. Naturally, the under on this total has cashed in seven of its last nine outings.
A significant turnaround against a pitcher who’s dealing as well as Rodriguez isn’t something I’m expecting.
Toronto’s offence is just below league average (4.24, 17th), and while I expect the Blue Jays to earn the win and get to Mikolas, I don’t think they’ll light him up and push this total to the over.
The Jays have gone under this total in eight of their last 11 games.
Picks made at 11:31 a.m. on 09/15/24.
Stevie’s an avid NFL, NHL, and tennis bettor who has no problem talking himself into the underdog. His previous stops include Yahoo! Sports Canada and Toronto Metropolitan University, where he received a degree in Sport Media.