Toronto Blue Jays (22-18) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (23-18)
May 23, 2022 7:45 pm EDT
The Line: St. Louis Cardinals -105 / Toronto Blue Jays -105; Over/Under: +8
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The Toronto Blue Jays and the St. Louis Cardinals meet Monday in MLB action from Busch Stadium. Toronto is fresh off a weekend series versus the Reds. The Jays won the first pair in that set, then on Sunday Toronto fell by a single run. As for St. Louis, they played the Pirates in their last set. The Cardinals won their first pair in that series as well. In the Sunday finale St. Louis posted a blowout victory for the sweep. Check back all season long for free MLB picks at Sports Chat Place.
Toronto took care of the Reds 2-1 on Friday and 3-1 in the Saturday matchup. In the Sunday finale, the Blue Jays had the game tied heading into the eighth but ultimately fell 3-2. Starter Yusei Kikuchi finished on 4.1 innings, two earned, two hits and three walks.
For the starter gig in the Monday game, the Blue Jays will send out Jose Berrios. Across eight starts in 2022, Berrios is 3-2 with a 4.83 ERA. In 41.0 innings of work total he’s got 48 hits with 22 earned, 13 walks and 28 Ks.
Over on the Cardinals’ side, they were able to beat Pittsburgh 5-3 in the Friday opener and 5-4 in the Saturday game. On Sunday St. Louis scored six runs in the second inning on the way to a wild 18-4 blowout victory. The Cardinals notched 20 hits in the win, and even Yadier Molina (1.0 innings; four earned; four hits) made a pitching appearance.
Miles Mikolas will take the mound for the Cardinals in the Monday game. In his eight starts so far Mikolas is 3-2 with a 1.68 ERA. Over 48.1 innings total he’s put up 39 hits, nine earned runs, nine walks and 36 Ks.
The Jays are 2-5 in their last seven in game one of a series and 9-4 in their last 13 versus the NL Central. Toronto is 7-2 in their last nine Monday games.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals are 14-6 in their last 20 in game one of a series and 35-16 in their last 51 Monday games. St. Louis is 8-20 in their last 28 versus the AL East.
PICK: I’m going to try the Cardinals in this one. Mikolas has been on a nice run lately. Over his last three starts, he’s got a total of four earned on 18 hits and five walks in 18.2 innings of work. Mikolas did take a loss to the Mets his last time up, but he pitched well with two earned in 6.0 innings. If St. Louis can get the bats going early in this one I think they’ll be in good shape.
