The St. Louis Cardinals are hosting the Washington Nationals in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series. The series gets officially underway at 8:08 p.m. ET and this opening game is going to be televised on TBS.

Washington Nationals vs. St. Louis Cardinals Odds

The right-handed Anibal Sanchez is projected to start for the visiting Nationals. Sanchez is 11-8 with a 3.85 ERA and 134 strikeouts. He’s 0-1 with seven strikeouts and a 5.40 ERA against St. Louis this year.

The Cardinals are putting the ball in the hands of righty Miles Mikolas (9-14, 4.16 ERA), who has 144 punchouts and 32 walks, along with a WHIP of 1.22. Mikolas is 1-1 with eight strikeouts and a 3.00 ERA across two starts against Washington this year.

Behind a team slash line of .221/.312/.358, the Nationals have produced 4.2 runs per game through six postseason outings. St. Louis is hitting .251/.318/.423 and the team has put up 5.2 runs in the 2019 playoffs.

The Cardinals bullpen has registered an ERA of 4.30 and a WHIP of 1.50 this postseason, while Nationals relievers have performed noticeably worse with a 6.63 ERA and 1.58 WHIP.

Washington’s offensive production has been fueled by third baseman Anthony Rendon and shortstop Trea Turner, who have combined to swat 55 home runs. Rendon is hitting .320/.412/.600 with 35 home runs, 131 RBIs and 123 runs scored. Turner (.297/.352/.498) is up to 20 homers, 58 RBIs, 100 runs and 35 stolen bases.

The Cardinals’ offense has been led by first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and second baseman Kolten Wong. Goldschmidt is hitting .265/.350/.490 with 36 home runs, 99 RBIs and 102 runs scored, and Wong’s line is .283/.359/.422 with 11 homers, 63 RBIs, 64 runs and 24 steals.

Washington Nationals at St. Louis Cardinals Free Pick

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

Notes

Betting Trends

Washington has recorded 13 extra-base hits over its last five contests. St. Louis has 21 XBH over its last five.

St. Louis has posted 23.2 Runs + Hits + Errors per game over its last 10 contests and 22.8 over its last five.

The Nationals have hit 12 home runs in their last 10 games. The Cardinals have hit 13 over their last 10.

The Nationals have a total OPS of .794 this season and an OPS of .783 when facing right-handed pitchers. The Cardinals’ OPS sits at .739 overall and .735 versus righties.