Cardinals vs. Reds prediction and odds for Thursday, May 25 (How to bet over/under)

The St. Louis Cardinals look to scratch to a split in its weekday series against the Reds after losing on Wednesday, 10-3.

After splitting the prior two the series stands 2-1 in favor of the Reds, but the Cardinals will hope that 2022 All-Star Miles Mikolas can stop the bleeding. After a shaky start to this season, he has turned it on of late, allowing no more than three earned runs in his last seven starts.

Can he hold it down on Thursday against a rebuilding Reds squad? Here's my favorite look on the over/under:

Cardinals vs. Reds odds, run line and total

Cardinals vs. Reds prediction and pick

As I alluded to earlier, Mikolas early season struggles are a distant memory as he is humming on the mound like last year. He allowed at least five earned runs in his first three starts, but since he has posted a 2.90 ERA while allowing only four home runs.

He'll face a Reds offense that is mediocre across the board, hitting about .250 on the year and heavily reliant on drawing walks to generate run scoring chances. Cincy gets on base via walk on nearly 10% of at bats, but Mikolas only allows about two walks per nine innings.

Past Mikolas, the Cardinals bullpen has been in fine form, top 10 in ERA as a unit and I believe they should close the book on a strong start.

However, the Cards aren't to be trusted as big favorites, a team that is seven games under .500. Further, this team continues to be priced as an NL Central champion, which they aren't at the moment. An $100 bettor would have lost $961 betting the Cards on the moneyline this season.

I can't back St. Louis at -165, but I can trust Mikolas to keep a lid on the Reds' offense, leading me to the team total under.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.