At Busch Stadium on Friday, the St. Louis Cardinals (53-49) begin a three-Game series versus the Washington Nationals (47-56), at 8:15 PM ET.
The Cardinals are favored at home (-164) against the Nationals (+138). The scheduled starters are Sonny Gray (10-6) for the St. Louis Cardinals, and MacKenzie Gore (6-8) for the Washington Nationals.
The Cardinals’ matchup Friday versus the Pirates resulted in a 5-0 loss. Masyn Winn went 2-for-4 in the defeat, while Matthew Liberatore threw three innings, giving up five earned runs on four hits while striking out three en route to taking the loss.
The Nationals fell to the Padres 3-0 yesterday. Patrick Corbin took the loss on the mound, pitching seven innings, giving up three earned runs on four hits while striking out seven.
Get ready for the Cardinals vs. Nationals with everything you need to know about Friday’s baseball action, including viewing options.
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Washington Nationals odds and betting lines
MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Thursday at 9:16 PM ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub.
- Favorite: Cardinals (-164, bet $164 to win $100)
- Underdog: Nationals (+138, bet $100 to win $138)
- Over/under: 8
Cardinals vs. Nationals: Live streaming info & game time
- Game Day: Friday, July 26, 2024
- Game Time: 8:15 PM ET
- Stadium: Busch Stadium
- TV Channel: Bally Sports
- Live Stream: Fubo (Watch for free)
Cardinals stats and trends
Cardinals betting records
- The Cardinals have entered the game as favorites 52 times this season and won 28, or 53.8%, of those games.
- This season St. Louis has won five of its 10 games, or 50%, when favored by at least -164 on the moneyline.
- The Cardinals have a 62.1% chance to win this game based on the implied probability of the moneyline.
- St. Louis and its opponents have gone over the total this season in 46 of 101 opportunities.
- In 100 games with a spread this season, the Cardinals are 52-48-0 ATS.
Sonny Gray (Cardinals probable starter)
- Gray (10-6) takes the mound for the Cardinals in his 19th start of the season. He has a 3.54 ERA in 106 2/3 innings pitched, with 131 strikeouts.
- The righty’s most recent time out was on Saturday against the Atlanta Braves, when he tossed seven innings, surrendering five earned runs while allowing eight hits.
- The 34-year-old has amassed an ERA of 3.54, with 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings, in 18 games this season. Opposing hitters have a .225 batting average against him.
- Gray is trying to collect his ninth quality start of the year.
- Gray is looking for his fourth straight outing lasting five or more innings. He averages 5.9 frames per appearance on the hill.
- He has had four appearances this season in which he kept his opponents to zero earned runs.
- The opposing Nationals offense has the 27th-ranked slugging percentage (.367) and is last in MLB play with 85 home runs. It has a collective .237 batting average, and is 23rd in MLB with 804 total hits and 21st in MLB action scoring 423 runs.
- Gray has thrown five innings, giving up five earned runs on eight hits while striking out six against the Nationals this season.
- The 34-year-old’s 3.54 ERA ranks 36th, 1.059 WHIP ranks 18th, and 11.1 K/9 ranks seventh among qualifying pitchers this season.
Cardinals batting stats
- The Cardinals have hit 103 homers this season, which ranks 22nd in the league.
- Hitters for St. Louis have combined for a team rank of 20th in the majors with a .386 team slugging percentage.
- The Cardinals rank 14th in MLB with a .245 team batting average.
- St. Louis ranks 24th in the majors with 418 total runs scored this season.
- The Cardinals have the 17th-ranked on-base percentage in MLB this season (.309).
- St. Louis ranks 16th with an average of 8.4 strikeouts per game.
Nationals stats and trends
Nationals betting records
- The Nationals have been victorious in 37, or 44%, of the 84 contests they have been chosen as underdogs in this season.
- Washington has a mark of 16-24 in contests where oddsmakers favor it by +138 or worse on the moneyline.
- Sportsbooks have implied with the moneyline set for this matchup that the Nationals have a 42% chance of pulling out a win.
- Washington and its opponents have hit the over in 50 of its 103 games with a total set by oddsmakers this season.
- The Nationals are 56-46-0 against the spread in their 102 games with a line set by sportsbooks this season.
MacKenzie Gore (Nationals probable starter)
- The Nationals will send Gore (6-8) out for his 21st start of the season. He is 6-8 with a 4.20 ERA and 118 strikeouts through 100 2/3 innings pitched.
- The lefty’s last time out came on Saturday against the Cincinnati Reds, when he went two innings, surrendering three earned runs while allowing two hits.
- The 25-year-old has amassed an ERA of 4.20, with 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings in 20 games this season. Opponents are batting .268 against him.
- Gore has five quality starts under his belt this year.
- Gore has pitched five or more innings in a game 14 times this season heading into this game.
- In one of his 20 total appearances this season he has not surrendered an earned run.
- He will match up with a Cardinals team that is batting .245 as a unit (14th in the MLB). They are also slugging a collective .386 (20th in the league) with 103 total home runs (22nd in MLB play).
- Gore has thrown 3 1/3 innings, giving up five earned runs on six hits while striking out five against the Cardinals this season.
Nationals batting stats
- The Nationals have hit 85 home runs this season, the lowest total in MLB play.
- So far this season, Washington’s .367 slugging percentage is the fourth-lowest percentage in baseball.
- The Nationals have the 19th-ranked batting average in the league (.237).
- Washington scores the 21st-most runs in baseball (423 total, 4.1 per game).
- The Nationals’ .305 on-base percentage is 21st in baseball.
