Atlanta Braves (54-54) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (53-54)
August 5, 2021 8:15 pm EDT
The Line: St. Louis Cardinals -110 / Atlanta Braves +100; Over/Under: +9
(Get latest betting odds)
The Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals meet Thursday in MLB action at Busch Stadium. The Braves look for a win after winning five of their last eight games. The Cardinals look for a win after splitting their last eight games.
The Atlanta Braves have scored 14 runs in their last three games and four or more runs in five of their last six games. The Braves have won five of their last six games when scoring four or more runs. Freddie Freeman leads the Braves with 116 hits and 60 RBI while Austin Riley and Ozzie Albies have combined for 219 hits and 132 RBI. Touki Toussaint gets the ball, and he is 1-2 with a 4.76 ERA and 20 strikeouts this season. Toussaint is 1-0 with a 2.79 ERA and 12 strikeouts in his career against the Cardinals.
The St. Louis Cardinals have scored 12 runs in their last three games and four or more runs in five of their last eight games. The Cardinals have won five of their last eight games when scoring four or more runs. Paul Goldschmidt leads the Cardinals with 108 hits and 58 RBI while Tommy Edman and Nolan Arenado have combined for 211 hits and 96 RBI. Wade LeBlanc gets the ball, and he is 0-2 with a 4.17 ERA and 27 strikeouts this season. LeBlanc is 0-4 with a 6.28 ERA and 20 strikeouts in his career against the Braves.
The Braves are 4-1 in their last 5 Thursday games. The Cardinals are 1-4 in their last 5 Thursday games and 4-0 in their last 4 during game 3 of a series. The over is 5-2 in Braves last 7 games as a favorite. The under is 7-1 in Cardinals last 8 Thursday games. The Braves are 8-2 in the last 10 meetings in St. Louis.
Touki Toussaint has been hit or miss through 17 innings and he’s coming off a brutal showing against the Brewers. LeBlanc has been solid for the most part, and he’s allowed just 27 hits and eight runs in his last 23.1 innings. The Cards have the pitching edge, but the Braves are playing the better baseball and it feels like they’re going to go on a run here. I like the value of the Braves and the even money.
