Baltimore Orioles at St. Louis Cardinals / MLB 2022 Predictions & Preview
Maybe the Orioles aren’t as bad as people predicted. They began their series in St. Louis on Tuesday playing their best baseball of the season, as winners in four of their last five games, and six wins in nine games.
The Cardinals are more of a mixed bag, having ended a six-game road trip 3-3, which followed a homestand in which they won just two of six games. Check out these trusted betting sites for all of your MLB betting needs.
Orioles at Cardinals Prediction
Scheduled to get the start for the Orioles is second-year right-hander Spenser Watkins. A 30th-round pick in 2014, he finally pitched in the Major Leagues last season. He made 16 appearances and 10 starts and wasn’t good. He finished the year 2-7 with an ERA of 8.07.
But credit to Baltimore for sticking with him, and for Watkins’ continued perseverance. In 2022, he’s made five starts, and four of them were very good. He gave up three earned runs in 4.2 innings his last time out, but he didn’t give up more than two earned runs in any of his previous four starts.
For the Cardinals, the scheduled starter is Miles Mikolas, who’s been their best and most consistent starter this season. He has yet to give up more than two earned runs in any start, and twice he kept the opponent completely off the scoreboard. In his last time out he gave up one run to the Giants in 5.2 innings pitched.
Not to discount the Orioles, or the fine pitching of Watkins in 2022, but there’s really no reason for a good baseball bettor to put money down on them. Mikolas is the better starter, and the Cardinals are the better team, and they’re playing at Busch Stadium.
Congratulations to the Orioles for their recent good play, but put your money on St. Louis when betting a reputable sportsbook such as Betway.
Baltimore Orioles Overview
No one’s quite ready to declare the Orioles a team on the rise, or one to watch in the very competitive American League East. When the dust settles on the division by the season’s end, they are expected to be in last place.
But right now they aren’t in last place, having bypassed the Red Sox with their hot play of late. This says more about the disappointing Red Sox than it does about the Orioles, but for long-suffering O’s fans, they’ll take the good news any way they get it.
Leading the way for the Baltimore offense is the breakout play of Austin Hays, who’s having a career year in every way imaginable. He’s slashing .327/.403/.500 and the biggest difference has been his patience at the plate. In 2021, he struck out 3.8 times for every walk. This season he’s striking out just 1.6 times for every walk.
His improved eye and improved contact is paying huge dividends in the Baltimore lineup.
St. Louis Cardinals Overview
The Cardinals are simply treading water in the National League Central at the moment. They split a four-game series with the Giants, beat the Royals two games to one, split with the Diamondbacks, and lost two of three games to the Mets.
The only real problem is the Brewers aren’t treading water. They continue to be one of the best teams in baseball, and the Cardinals can ill-afford to play .500 baseball in a division that includes Milwaukee.
Nolan Arenado has cooled off in May, going from a .375 batting average in April, to just .226 this month. The same is true for Tommy Edman, who was on fire in April, slugging .486 with 11 RBI. In May, his slugging has dropped 100 points and he’s driven in just three runs.
The St. Louis pitching also hit a roadblock when the calendar ticked over to May. Instead of the 3.22 ERA in 20 April games, the Cardinals have a 4.04 ERA this month. In 20 April games, they allowed just 13 home runs. In eight games in May they’ve already given up 10 home runs.