Heading into game three of this interleague matchup, the Cardinals (48-61, 24-30 home) will send Matthew Liberatore to the mound against the Twins (55-54, 25-30 away) and Sonny Gray. Check out my pick for today’s Minnesota Twins vs. St. Louis Cardinals game in St. Louis.

MINNESOTA TWINS VS ST. LOUIS CARDINALS BETTING PICK

The Pick: St. Louis Cardinals +1.5 Runs

This game will be played at Busch Stadium at 7:45 ET on Thursday, August 3rd.

WHY BET THE ST. LOUIS CARDINALS:

  • Against the runline, the Cardinals have gone 6-4 in their ten games at home.
  • The Cardinals are riding a three game streak of covering the runline at home.
  • Sonny Gray has struggled of late, coming in with an ERA of 6.11 over his last four starts.

CAN THE MINNESOTA TWINS PULL OUT A WIN AS ROAD FAVORITES?

With an overall record of 55-54, the Twins are 1st in the AL Central. When playing at home, they are 30-24 and 25-30. So far, Minnesota has a record of 28-28 against below .500 teams and have played in 34 series, going 15-15-4.

Today marks Sonny Gray’s 22nd outing of the season, with a 4-4 record to show for it. His ERA is 3.22 and OBP allowed .301, while he has struck out 115 batters and holds a WHIP of 1.27. On the road, Gray’s ERA is 3.45, compared to 3.09 at home.

In his most recent outing, Sonny Gray pitched six strong innings, allowing three runs, but did not factor into the decision. Unfortunately for the Twins, they were defeated by the Royals 8-5 despite Gray’s efforts.

Offensively, Minnesota is ranked 18th in the league with an average of 4.4 runs per game. When looking over their last ten matchups, the Twins averaged 3.8 runs per contest, which is 9th best in that span. In terms of their power numbers, Minnesota is 8th in all of baseball, with a total of 142 home runs.

The Twins’ Carlos Correa has been the team’s leader in hits this season, boasting a .225 batting average. His slugging percentage is .392 and on-base percentage is .299 entering the game.

WILL THE ST. LOUIS CARDINALS TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS AT HOME?

Heading into their 109th game of the season, the Cardinals have an overall record of 48-61, and have a win percentage of just 44.4% at home. Currently, St. Louis is 5th in the NL Central and has a 13-17-4 record across their 34 series.

Matthew Liberatore has made nine appearances this season, with a .504 slugging percentage allowed and a 1.84 WHIP. His record stands at 1-3 with an ERA of 6.75, and he has racked up 22 strikeouts so far, averaging 6.19 per nine innings. On the road, Liberatore is 0-2 with an ERA of 33.86, while at home his record is 1-1 with an ERA of 5.45.

Matthew Liberatore’s most recent performance was a struggle, giving up four runs in a mere one-third of an inning. The Cardinals were unable to overcome the deficit and lost to the Marlins 10-9, with Liberatore not factoring into the decision.

Over their last ten games, the Cardinals are ranked 11th in the league in scoring at 4.2 runs per game. Their season-long scoring average of 4.7 per contest puts them 12th in baseball. In terms of on-base percentage, St. Louis is 7th, with an OBP currently sitting at .330. The team’s collective batting average is .256 (7th).

The Cardinals’ offensive leader, Paul Goldschmidt, has been a consistent presence at the plate this season. He boasts a batting average of .277 and has posted a SLG% of .460 and OBP of .365.