Cardinals vs. Nationals prediction and odds for Wednesday, June 21 (Young Bats Carrying St. Louis)

The St. Louis Cardinals aren't used to spending time in last place in the NL Central, but they’ve been buried there much of the year. However, if they could play the Washington Nationals a few more times they could probably claw their way out. The Cardinals took a 9-3 win yesterday to get to 31-43 and go for the sweep today to extend their win streak to five games. The Nats are 27-45 and have lost five straight.

Today, the Cardinals will send Miles Mikolas to the mound for the 16th time this season. He is 4-4 with a 4.36 in his previous 15 outings and will be opposed by Trevor Williams who has spent much of his career pitching in the NL Central. The former Pirate and Cub is 3-4 with a 4.50 ERA in 14 starts for Washington this year.

Let’s take a look at the odds for the series finale. 

Cardinals vs. Nationals odds, run line and total

Cardinals vs. Nationals prediction and pick

In June the Cardinals are 12th in team OPS, but their 73 runs scored ranks 19th in the MLB. They are hitting better than their run production shows which is a strong indicator of future offensive success. Another good sign is that Jordan Walker is hitting like a superstar. This month has a 1.011 OPS in 59 at-bats with four home runs and three doubles.

Walker isn't the only young outfield that is hitting the ball well for St. Louis. Yesterday, Dylan Carlson homered twice in the win and has a 1.095 OPS in 30 at-bats this month. Nolan Arenado has been having a great month and with Carlson and Walker hitting this way it doesn’t seem like the Cardinals will be the worst team in the division for long. 

The pitching staff has been a different story. Mikolas has given up 11 runs in his past two starts . In those 12.0 innings he has just three strikeouts and three walks with 15 hits. For the entire month of June has has only struck out five batters. 

It’s not like Trevor Williams has been much better. He has a FIP of 5.45 and in June has allowed 11 runs in 15.0 innings. He’s also allowed 20 hits with four home runs over those three starts. The ball will be in play a lot in this matchup and it feels like that will make for a high-scoring affair in DC. 

Follow all Josh Yourish’s bets HERE

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change