Milwaukee Brewers vs. St. Louis Cardinals Game 1 – 9/14/20 MLB Pick, Odds, and Prediction

The St. Louis Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers meet Monday in MLB action from Miller Park. 

This will be game one of a Monday doubleheader, and the first installment of a hefty five-game set between these teams this week. The Cardinals are coming out of a series versus the Reds this weekend. After splitting the first two games, in the Sunday rubber match St. Louis fell 10-5 and dropped the series. As for the Brewers, they just finished up a series versus the Cubs, also splitting the first two games. In Sunday’s game, Milwaukee was the victim of a no-hitter, falling big 12-0. Check back all season long for free MLB picks and MLB predictions at Sports Chat Place. 

The Cardinals had a 5-3 lead going into the sixth inning on Sunday in the loss, but coughed up seven runs over the final four frames. Matt Carpenter was the only Cardinal with more than one hit, going 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. Starting pitcher Carlos Martinez went 4.0 innings with six hits, three earned and eight strikeouts. 

For the game one starting role, the Cardinals will send out Kwang Hyun Kim. In five games (four starts) this season, Kim is 2-0 with a 0.83 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 21.2 innings—and he has a save. This is the 32-year-old Kim’s first season of Major League action. 

Over on the Brewers’ side, they couldn’t figure out the Cubs’ Alec Mills in the Sunday loss, striking out five times, never notching a hit and having three walks as the only baserunners. Starting pitcher Adrian Houser took the loss for Milwaukee, going 4.0 innings with four hits, seven runs (two earned), four walks and five strikeouts. 

For the Monday game one starter slot, the Brewers are going with Josh Lindblom. In his nine games (seven starts) this year, Lindblom is 1-3 with a 6.06 ERA and 42 Ks in 32.2 innings of work. On his MLB career, Lindblom is 6-11 with a 4.46 ERA and 173 Ks in 179.2 innings total. 

The Cardinals are 7-2 in their last nine opening games of a doubleheader and 35-16 in their last 51 Monday games. St. Louis is 38-18 in their last 56 versus a team with a losing record and 2-5 in their last seven games as an underdog. 

Meanwhile, the Brewers are 13-5 in their last 18 games versus a left-handed starter and 5-2 in their last seven games as a home favorite. Milwaukee is 5-2 in their last seven Monday games and 5-11 in their last 16 during game one of a series. 

Pick: I’m leaning toward the Cardinals in this one. Both these teams match up pretty well, so this should be a tight series. Kim is taking the mound for the first time since heading to the hospital with abdominal pain. It turned out that he had a kidney issue, and he’s apparently good to go now. Kim posted five scoreless innings with two walks and four strikeouts in his last start versus the Reds and should set St. Louis up well initially.