The St. Louis Cardinals are taking on the Washington Nationals in Game 3 of the NLCS. The Nationals currently maintain a commanding 2-0 lead in the series, and this matchup will be televised on TBS. The opening pitch is scheduled for 7:38 p.m. ET.

St. Louis Cardinals at Washington Nationals Odds

Oddsmakers have listed Washington (-125) as the favorite over St. Louis (+115). The total stands at 7.5 runs and bettors can take the over for -120 and the under for +100. There’s a runline of Cardinals +1.5 (-180) and Nationals -1.5 (+160) for this matchup.

Including the regular season, the Cardinals are 94-75 SU and are 87-82 against the spread (ATS). The team hasn’t moved the needle a whole lot this year, gaining 3.2 units for gamblers taking the moneyline and 1.1 units ATS. St. Louis has covered the spread just twice over its last seven games and the under has hit in four of those seven. The Nationals, on the other hand, are 99-71 SU and 97-73 ATS. They’ve gained 9.4 units for bettors taking the moneyline and 20.4 units ATS. Washington has covered the spread five times in its last seven games and the total has gone under in five of those seven.

Nationals games have an over/under record of 78-82-10 in 2019. The Cardinals have been a strong under bet with a total record of 70-87-12.

The right-handed Jack Flaherty is the projected starter for St. Louis. Flaherty (11-8, 2.75 ERA) has racked up 231 strikeouts in 196.1 innings so far. He has yet to face the Nationals this year and only made one start against them in 2018 (0-0, 1.80 ERA and five strikeouts over five innings).

The Nationals will put the ball in the right hand of Stephen Strasburg (18-6, 3.32 ERA), who’s got 251 strikeouts and 56 walks as well as a 1.04 WHIP. Strasburg is 1-0 with 15 strikeouts and a 2.31 ERA across two starts against St. Louis this year.

Fueled by a team slash line of .207/.276/.341, St. Louis has averaged 3.9 runs scored through seven playoff games. Washington is hitting .226/.308/.360 and the team has put up 3.8 runs in this year’s playoffs.

The Nationals bullpen has registered a postseason ERA of 6.04 and a WHIP of 1.43, while Cardinals relievers have fared noticeably better with a 3.72 ERA and 1.45 WHIP.

First baseman Paul Goldschmidt and second baseman Kolten Wong have led St. Louis’ offense. Goldschmidt is slashing .264/.347/.486 with 36 home runs, 99 RBIs and 102 runs scored, while Wong (.280/.358/.417) is up to 11 homers, 63 RBIs, 64 runs and 26 steals.

The Nationals’ hitters have been led by third baseman Anthony Rendon and shortstop Trea Turner. Rendon is slashing .320/.414/.597 with 35 home runs, 131 RBIs and 123 runs scored, while Turner is batting .297 with 20 homers, 58 RBIs, 101 runs and 35 stolen bases.

The Nationals are looking for another win following a 3-1 victory in Game 2 of this series.

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Washington Nationals Free Pick

Predictions: SU Winner – Nationals, ATS Winner – Cardinals, O/U – OVER

Notes

Betting Notes

St. Louis has recorded 15 extra-base hits over its last five contests. Washington has 14 XBH over its last five.

The Cardinals have hit 10 home runs in their last 10 games. The Nationals have hit nine over their last 10.

The Cardinals have a team OPS of .734 this season and an OPS of .729 when facing right-handed pitchers. The Nationals’ OPS sits at .793 overall and .781 against righties.

St. Louis has posted 18.6 Runs + Hits + Errors per game over its last 10 outings and 15.2 over its last five.