Cardinals vs Dodgers Prediction, Picks, and Odds: Cards Sink Stone on Sunday Night Baseball

Sunday Night Baseball returns for the first time this season with a great matchup on Easter Sunday between the St. Louis Cardinals (1-2) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (3-2).

Glancing at the MLB odds, the Dodgers are -185 on the moneyline while the total has been set at 9.

I’m taking a closer look at the Cardinals’ team total. They’ve been off to a very slow start at the plate, but is that due to facing a few tough matchups, or is it a sign of decline?

Read on for my best bet and full MLB picks and predictions for Cardinals vs. Dodgers on Sunday, March 31. 

Cardinals vs Dodgers odds

Cardinals vs Dodgers predictions

There’s limping out of the gates and then there’s whatever the St. Louis Cardinals have done at the plate to begin the 2024 season. They’ve been utterly stupefied by opposing pitchers, posting league-worst numbers with a 15 wRC+, .188 wOBA, and .416 OPS. 

I suppose that’s one side effect of opening things with a four-game series against a terrific Los Angeles Dodgers team that has a potent pitching staff. However, manager Oliver Marmol would still like to see signs of progress at the dish sooner rather than later. 

Looking at this lineup, there should be expectations for immediate improvement against Gavin Stone and his 9.00 ERA from a year ago. The right-hander is a promising prospect and the Dodgers are letting him play through his lumps to build for the future, but one has to remain skeptical until they see proof in the pudding. 

Stone surrendered at least four earned runs in all four of his ill-fated starts a year ago. There are once again hopes that he’s a productive big-leaguer, however, after he struck out eight of the 11 batters he faced against the Korean national team and posted a 9:1 K:BB ratio over 9 ⅔ innings of work in the Cactus League. 

I see the reason for hope, but he’s not facing the Korean national team and he’s not facing minor league opponents. He’s facing a capable lineup that was league-average a year ago, and I’ll need Stone to prove me wrong before believing the hype. 

Marmol can trot out a solid lineup containing quality veterans like Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, and Wilson Contreras in the heart of it and promising prospects Jordan Walker and Victor Scott in the bottom third. This doesn’t have the makings of a bad offense and a similar result to last year’s 104 wRC+ is a reasonable expectation. 

I think it’s time buy low on a decent lineup after a tough start to the year. After overlooking MLB props and odds, one will notice that St. Louis’ team total is set at just 3.5 for Sunday. That’s a hair too low and we’re getting decent odds at a low number against an unproven pitcher, so I’m willing to buy the discount. 

The Cardinals averaged 4.44 runs per game a year ago, so this total has dipped too far as a result of them facing some stellar starting pitching to begin the year. No ball club in the league averaged fewer than 3.5 runs per game a year ago as the lowly Athletics came in last at 3.61. 

My best bet: Cardinals team total Over 3.5 (-120 at DraftKings)

Cardinals vs Dodgers same-game parlay

Cardinals team total Over 3.5

Jordan Walker 2+ total bases 

Will Smith 2+ total bases

+625 at DraftKings

There are reasons to have hope for this St. Louis lineup, the least of which is the precocious Jordan Walker. The 21-year-old looks like a veteran with his 6-foot-5, 220-pound frame and beautiful batting approach and is one of the top young players in the MLB.

He posted a 116 wRC+ during his first year in the big leagues overall but was better against against right-handed pitching, sporting a .292 BA, .823 OPS, and 126 wRC+. I like his chances of having a successful day at the dish against Stone. 

The last leg of this SGP involves Dodgers catcher Will Smith also notching 2+ total bases. I’m a huge fan of Smith and think he somehow flies under the radar at times despite being a middle-of-the order bat for one of the league’s best teams. You don’t get offensive production like this (career 129 wRC+) from your backstop very often. 

Steven Matz was notably worse against righties last year, allowing a .326 wOBA compared to his .272 wOBA against lefties. Smith is an equal opportunity masher.

Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.

Cardinals vs Dodgers moneyline and Over/Under analysis

• The Dodgers can be had for -185 on the moneyline while the total is set at 9 across the board.
• Track any price fluctuations before first pitch using our MLB line movement tool.
• The Dodgers have hit their first five innings team total Under in 11 of their last 15 games at home.

Trend to know

Stone has allowed at least four earned runs in each of his four career starts, during which the Dodgers are allowing 8.5 runs per game. Find more MLB betting trends for Cardinals vs. Dodgers.

Cardinals vs Dodgers game info

Starting pitchers

Steven Matz (0-0, 0.00 ERA): The 32-year-left-handed old vet has thrown 153 innings across the last two years with the Cardinals. He had a nice go of things last year, notching a 3.86 ERA and 3.76 FIP while mostly working in the rotation (17 starts out of 25 appearances). 

Gavin Stone (0-0, 0.00 ERA): Stone is the opposite of Matz in many ways. He’s a right-handed youngster who did not live up to expectations a year ago, sporting a 9.00 ERA and 6.64 FIP across 31 innings in his rookie season. There are still high hopes for Stone internally for the Dodgers as he posted a stellar 1.60 ERA across 73.1 innings at the Double-A level in 2022 and has mostly been effective in the minors. 

Latest injuries

Weather

Stay updated with the latest picks, odds, and news! Tap the to add us to your favorites on Google News to never miss a story.

Pages related to this topic