Game three of this interleague series sees the Cardinals (54-66, 27-33 home) and Athletics (33-87, 15-46 away) facing off at Busch Stadium. The starting pitcher for the Cardinals will be Matthew Liberatore, while the Athletics are turning to Paul Blackburn. Find out who I like to win in this St. Louis Cardinals and Oakland Athletics showdown.

OAKLAND ATHLETICS VS ST. LOUIS CARDINALS BETTING PICK

The Pick: Oakland Athletics +1.5 Runs

This game will be played at Busch Stadium at 6:45 ET on Wednesday, August 16th.

WHY BET THE OAKLAND ATHLETICS:

  • Against the runline, the Cardinals have gone just 2-3 in their last five home games.
  • Over their last five games as the favorite, the Cardinals are just 2-3 against the runline.
  • Matthew Liberatore has struggled of late, coming in with an ERA of 38.65 over his last five starts.

OAKLAND ATHLETICS STRUGGLING VS RUNLINE OF LATE

Heading into today’s game, the Athletics are 5th in the AL West with an overall record of 33-87. When looking at their performance in their 38 series, Oakland is 9-28-1. Against below .500 teams, the Athletics are 13-13 while going 15-46 on the road and 18-41 at home.

The Athletics will turn to starter Paul Blackburn, who has an overall record of 2-3. Through 13 appearances, his ERA stands at 4.52 with a K/9 of 9.05. Blackburn has put together a FIP of 3.73 and an OBP of .343 thus far in the 2023 season.

After a defeat to the Nationals, Paul Blackburn’s most recent outing saw him surrender four runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings.

This season, the Athletics are 28th in the league at 3.6 runs per game. Over their last five games, they have a combined batting average of .220 (18th) leading to 3.6 runs per contest. Overall, they are generating 3.2 walks per game compared to 9 strikeouts. Oakland’s on-base percentage of .300 has them 20th in the MLB.

The Athletics’ offense has been bolstered by Esteury Ruiz this season. He has a .251 batting average and 37 runs batted in, while also notching two home runs.

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

For the season, the Cardinals have put together a record of 54-66 and are 5th in the NL Central, putting them 11 games out of first place. St. Louis’ overall series record sits at 14-19-5. On the road, they have gone 27-33 and 27-33 at home.

Matthew Liberatore enters the matchup with a 2-4 record and 5.71 ERA. On the road, he has a 1-2 record and 27.09 ERA in five appearances. At home, his mark is 1-2 with an ERA of 5.86. His season WHIP is 1.51, while opponents are batting .273 against him with a .439 slugging percentage.

The Cardinals are hoping that Matthew Liberatore can lead them to another victory, as the last time he took the mound, they emerged victorious against the Rays (5-2). The 2023 season has been a successful one for Liberatore thus far, as he completed eight innings of work without allowing any earned runs on two hits.

Across their last five games, the Cardinals’ offense is 1st in batting average, leading to an average of 6.2 runs per contest in that span. Overall, they are the 11th ranked scoring offense and posted a season-long OPS of .769 on 169 (5th). On average, they have struckout 8 times per game compard to 3.5 walks.

Nolan Arenado has been a key contributor to the Cardinals’ offense this season, boasting a .289 batting average and .516 slugging percentage. Over the past ten games, Arenado has been especially impressive, leading St. Louis in hits with a .385 average.