Angels vs Cardinals Odds, Picks & Props to Target (May 4)

• The Angels and Cardinals close out a 3 game Interleague series on Thursday, May 4th
• Off to a terrible 10-21 start, the Cardinals are -145 moneyline favorites for the series finale
• Don’t miss the latest Angels vs Cardinals odds, best bet, predictions and prop picks

For a team that always seems to find success, it’s very odd to see the St. Louis Cardinals sitting at the bottom of the National League standings. They are last in the division following a campaign where they won the NL Central by seven games.

Trying to put a rough April behind them, they’ve got off on the wrong foot in this series against the Angels, dropping each of the first two matchups. On Thursday, May 4th, the Angels and Cards finish off their three game set with opening pitch scheduled for 1:15 pm ET at Busch Stadium in a game you can watch on MLB Network.

In the span of the month, the Cards MLB division odds have faded from -129 to +310 and they better wake up soon if they want to get back into the postseason. Below, you can find the Angels vs Cardinals odds for Thursday, plus our best bet and props to target.

Angels vs Cardinals Odds

Early returns have been minimal if you’ve been betting on St. Louis in the MLB odds this campaign. In fact, they are the second best team to bet against on the moneyline, providing a return of investment of almost 35% if you’ve been choosing their opponents to win.

Despite that, sportsbooks have labelled the Cards -145 moneyline chalk with an experienced vet on the mound, while the Halos counter with a pitcher looking to grab a foothold in their rotation. Forecasts are calling for beautiful afternoon weather with temperatures expected to be 72 degrees.

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Odds as of May 3rd at DraftKings Sportsbook.

Los Angeles (AL) vs St. Louis Probable Pitchers

Returning to the mound this year after missing all of last season with a stress fracture in his back, Griffin Canning still has something to prove if he wants to solidify a spot as a trusted source in the Angels rotation.

Griffin Canning, Nasty 89mph Slider. 😨 pic.twitter.com/YzzA1EuVUx

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 26, 2023

Early results this campaign indicate the 26-year old is proving he belongs. While he hasn’t dominated on the hill, he’s gone at least five innings in each of his three starts and struck out a season high seven hitters in his last outing against the A’s giving him his first big league victory in 22 months.

It’s still early, but right now it appears the Halos are comfortable trotting him out every fifth day with the expectation that he can provide at least five solid innings.

Canning vs Flaherty Stats

Once upon a time Jack Flaherty looked like the next great Cardinals ace and pitcher who would be a contender in the Cy Young odds annually. Unfortunately, issues in his right throwing shoulder have caused him to miss a significant amount of time over the last few years.

While he still has the type of power arm to sit down batters on a regular basis, he has struggled with control recently. Between this season and last, he’s issued 43 free passes in just 68 innings of work. That’s an average of 5.7 walks per nine innings, well above his career ratio of 3.4.

At only 27 years of age, there is still hope from the Cardinals that the flamethrower can regain the form that saw him lead the National League in WHIP and hits per nine innings back in 2019 when he was 11 outs away from throwing 200 innings.

St. Louis’ Hitters Like Day Games

There’s a huge dichotomy in the performance of the MLB starting lineups for the Cardinals when they play during the day instead of night. Entering Thursday’s matchup, they own a 7-5 record during games and a porous 3-16 mark at night.

The Cardinals lose, 6-4. They leave the field to an eruption of boos.

They've lost five straight games. Their 10-21 record is the worst in the National League. They are, by all means, an unrecognizable team.

— Katie Woo (@katiejwoo) May 4, 2023

On offense, St. Louis has hit two more homers in seven fewer games and have a team OPS of .880 during matinee affairs with just a .635 OPS when the lights need to go on.

Somehow, the Angels defeated the Cards in the series opener with Mike Trout going hitless and striking out twice and Shohei Ohtani sitting on the bench before starting Wednesday’s game, another Angels victory. Keeping those two quiet will be key if the Cardinals want to salvage a win from this series.

Being careful around Hunter Renfroe would also be wise as each of the Angles three sluggers have hit at least seven dingers so far this season and have combined for 59 RBI’s early in the campaign.

Angels vs Cardinals Predictions and Prop Picks

The Cardinals must be kicking themselves. With Ohtani on the mound Wednesday, they actually hit two homers and pushed four runs across the plate against the favorite in the AL MVP odds, but still couldn’t notch a victory.

Now, they’re on the cusp of being swept and the Angels big boppers love to swing the sticks during the day.

Trout and Ohtani 2023 Day Game Stats

Trout went deep Wednesday night and now has three bombs in his last four games. Betting on the long ball is a long shot, so instead our favorite player prop picks are to take both Ohtani and Trout to go over 1.5 total bases at plus money with the former paying out at +135 and the latter paying +125.

The Cardinals World Series odds are sinking like a stone and although we like them to take the series finale, it’s far from a guarantee. Instead, our best prediction is the over at 8.5 runs between two teams who hit a lot better during day than at night.

Pick: Over 8.5 Runs (-110)