Game Information
St. Louis Cardinals (7-8) vs Houston Astros (7-8)
Time: 6:45pm CT Monday
How to watch: FanDuel Sports Network
Probable pitchers: Sonny Gray (2-0, 4.50 ERA) vs Framber Valdez (1-1, 2.50 ERA)
DraftKings Odds
Moneyline: Cardinals -112, Astros -108
Total: 7.5 (over +102, under -122)
Cardinals Welcome Astros To Busch
The St. Louis Cardinals look to build off their series win over Philadelphia when they take on the Houston Astros in the first of three tonight at Busch Stadium.
Both teams send their aces to the hill this evening with Sonny Gray and Framber Valdez both coming off terrific performances in their last outings.
Cards’ Pitching Improving
After a rough beginning to the season, the Redbirds’ starting pitching stabilized in the last turn through the rotation. Gray put a stop to the team’s four-game losing streak with 5 innings of 1-run ball against the Pirates, and that started a run of the last five games where Cardinals starters have pitched 29 innings with only 4 earned runs allowed on 11 hits and 9 walks - that’s a 1.24 ERA and 0.69 WHIP during that stretch.
The Cards took 2-of-3 from the Phillies by beating Aaron Nola and Zach Wheeler over the weekend, with the bat of Willson Contreras starting to heat up. The Cardinals first baseman is using the new torpedo bat, and he went 4-for-8 over the last two games with his first home run of the season.
Valdez On The Mound For Houston
Valdez is coming off a dominant outing in Seattle where he pitched 6 shutout innings with just 2 hits allowed, 1 walk, and 8 strikeouts. Expect Valdez to pitch deep in the game tonight, as the left-hander leads MLB with 55 starts of 7+ innings since 2020. The Cardinals have fared well against lefties so far this season with a .787 OPS that ranks 5th in baseball.
The Astros are led by Jose Altuve, who has a .302 batting average despite coming off two hitless games.
My Pick
That last point about Altuve leads me to my pick for tonight’s game. I’m taking a Same Game Parlay on DraftKings backed by very friendly historical data.
The first leg of the parlay is for Altuve to get a hit tonight. The last time he went hitless in three straight games was June 2023. Altuve also has a .343 batting average in 35 career at-bats against Gray.
The second leg is for Gray to record at least 5 strikeouts. He had only 4 K’s in his last start at Pittsburgh, and he likely would have had more if he wasn’t pulled after 71 pitches on a cold night. The last time Gray went back-to-back starts without getting 5 strikeouts was also June 2023.
Put these two legs together, and you have yourself a plus money bet.
Pick: Same Game Parlay priced at +104 on DraftKings - Jose Altuve to record 1+ hits AND Sonny Gray to record 5+ strikeouts (bet up to +100)
Eric Sontag hosts Domesticated Gamblers every Friday on the Sports Hub STL YouTube channel. Follow him on X @GamblingDads, and click here for his daily picks on all of our St. Louis area sports teams. Picks = betting the game - minus odds betting to win 1 unit, plus odds risking 1 unit. Leans = no strong opinion, not betting the game. Disclaimer