MLB Picks

MLB Picks: San Diego Padres vs. St. Louis Cardinals Wild Card 10/1/20


2020-10-01 17:08:00 EDT

The St. Louis Cardinals and the San Diego Padres meet Thursday in MLB Wild Card playoffs action from Petco Park. 

This will be Game 2 in a best-of-three postseason series between the Cardinals and the Padres this week. In the Game 1 opener on Wednesday, the Cardinals posted six runs in the first three innings, eventually posting a 7-4 victory. Check back all season long for free MLB picks and MLB predictions at Sports Chat Place. 

The Cardinals out-hit the Padres 13-8 in the Wednesday win, and scored four runs in the first inning alone. Yadier Molina was the top hitter with a 3-for-4 night, two runs and one RBI. Paul Goldschmidt posted a two-run homer, and starter Kwang Hyun Kim went 3.2 innings with three earned runs. 

In the starting role for Game 2 on Thursday, St. Louis will send Adam Wainwright to the mound. This year in 10 starts, Wainwright went 5-3 with a 3.15 ERA and 54 Ks in 65.2 innings In his MLB postseason career, Wainwright is 4-5 with a 2.81 ERA and 115 Ks in 105.2 innings. 

Over on the Padres’ side, Wednesday starting pitcher Jake Paddack put up 2.1 innings with six earned runs with just one strikeout. Tommy Pham had two hits with a run, a double and an RBI in the losing effort. 

In the Game 2 starter role, the Padres will send out Zach Davies. In 12 starts this season, Davies went 7-4 with a 2.73 ERA and 63 Ks in 69.1 innings. Davies has one postseason inning to his credit over his career, posting a clean frame with a strikeout. 

The Cardinals are 4-1 in their last five during game two of a series and 6-2 in the last eight road games. St. Louis is 15-6 in their last 21 Thursday games and 9-4 in their last 13 overall. 

Meanwhile, the Padres are 9-3 in the last 12 after a loss and 26-12 in their last 38 overall. San Diego is 19-9 in their last 28 games as a favorite and 10-21 in their last 31 in game two of a series. 

Pick: I’m going to go with the Cardinals here. Wainwright has always been a really good postseason pitcher, and he’s certainly got the experience over his lengthy career. In 105.2 career playoffs innings, Wainwright has a nice 2.81 ERA. Last season he pitched into the eighth inning in both of his first two starts, but did have a bad outing in NLCS Game 4. Still, I think Wainwright can recapture some magic and put the Cards in position for a victory here.

Andrew's Free Pick: St. Louis Cardinals +154

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Andrew

Andrew has been writing about college, professional and fantasy sports betting since 2013. Andrew's goal is to break down the complicated numbers and trends into a language that's easily accessible to novice sports bettors and seasoned professionals alike.

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