Tigers vs Cardinals Odds, Betting Lines, and Picks (August 25)
- The St. Louis Cardinals are home favorites over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday afternoon
- The Cardinals send Jon Lester (4-6, 5.46) to the mound to face Tigers rookie Tarik Skubal (8-11, 4.02)
- The odds and pitching matchups can be found below with a prediction
The St. Louis Cardinals — who are still on the periphery of the National League Wild Card chase — host the Detroit Tigers at 1:15 pm ET, Wednesday, in the second game of a short two-game series at Busch Stadium.
The Redbirds were 11-8 in the month of August entering the two-game set against the Motor City Kitties Tuesday — but have lost two straight series (to the Brewers and Pirates) in the Gateway City. Manager Mike Shildt’s club wraps up the homestand against Detroit, a team that comes into the NL ballpark with a 10-9 mark this month prior to Tuesday. With the Cards still in contention for a postseason berth, it’s not surprising they are favored on Hump Day.
Tigers vs Cardinals Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Runline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit Tigers | +140 | +1.5 (-150) | Over 8.5 (-110) |
| St. Louis Cardinals | -160 | -1.5 (+130) | Under 8.5 (-110) |
Odds as of August 24h at DraftKings.
Probable Pitchers
On the mound, three-time World Series champ Jon Lester (4-6, 5.46) faces Tarik Skubal (8-11, 4.02).
St. Louis general manager Mike Girsch acquired the veteran lefty (along with fellow southpaw JA Happ) from Washington to eat up innings while Jack Flaherty and Miles Mikolas recovered from their respective injuries. But the Cards may have regretted the move after Lester’s first start — when he allowed nine hits, six earned runs, and two walks while striking out four in five innings against Atlanta. He allowed the first seven Braves batters to reach base. He settled down, but the Cards lost 6-1.
He’s been far from sharp since — sporting a 1-0 record but massive 5.96 ERA — as St. Louis has gone 2-1 in the three games since.
Skubal vs Lester Key Stats
| 8-11 | Record | 4-6 |
| 4.02 | ERA | 5.46 |
| 5.40 | xERA | 5.23 |
| 1.28 | WHIP | 1.64 |
| 3.27 | SO/W | 1.55 |
The 37-year-old simply does not have much left in the tank. Only three of his 20 starts have been of the quality vintage, with his most recent one coming July 19th against the Marlins. That outing — that saw him scatter six hits over seven innings while striking out seven in an 18-1 Nats win — was by far his best of 2021. He’s coming off a 4.1 inning effort last Thursday against Milwaukee, where he gave up six hits, four earned runs and three walks while striking out none in an 8-4 Cards win.
Jon Lester has now allowed 16 ER in 20.1 IP as a Cardinal, with 8 K and 9 BB.
— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) August 20, 2021
As for Skubal, the 24-year-old portsider has tossed eight quality starts out of his 22 turns in the rotation this season. He’s been especially warm of late though, sporting a 2-0 record with a minuscule 1.05 ERA in his previous three outings. He went 6.2 innings allowing six hits, two earned runs and zero walks while striking out seven in a 3-1 loss to the Angels last Wednesday.
The young lefty is 4-5 with a 5.11 ERA in nine starts on the road in 2021. He’s 5-2 with a 3.42 ERA in eight day game starts (ten appearances).
Busch Push
Albeit a long-shot, the Redbirds are still in contention for a postseason spot and need their big hitters to come through down the stretch. Paul Goldschmidt, Tyler O’Neill, and Lars Nootbaar are all hitting over .350 in their last five games entering play Tuesday. Goldschmidt tops the group, going 9-for-23 (.391) with five doubles and a home run. The six-time All-Star has been even more impressive over the last couple weeks.
He’s at it again.
Paul Goldschmidt’s 11 Game Hit Streak:
• 19-45 (.422 Avg.)
• 7 Doubles, 1 HR
• 8 RBIs, 9 Runs
• .491 OBP
• 1.135 OPS
• 2 Stolen Bases, Caught 0 Times
• 8 of 11 Games have been Multi-Hit
• Won Everyone at Yesterday’s Game a Big Mac#stlfly pic.twitter.com/0l2z9MXnGK— Gateway Grinders Backup (@gatewaygrindrs) August 23, 2021
The Cards hope he stays hot Wednesday.
Batting Average vs Starting Pitchers
| Tigers Batters | Batting Average vs Jon Lester | Cardinals Batters | Batting Average vs Tarik Skubal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jonathan Schoop | .300 | Tommy Edman | .400 |
| Robbie Grossman | .500 | Paul Goldschmidt | .250 |
| Miguel Cabrera | .536 | Tyler O’Neill | .000 |
| Jeimer Candelario | .333 | Nolan Arenado | .000 |
| Dustin Garneau | .50 | Yadier Molina | .500 |
It’s been a small sample size for probable Cardinal hitters against Skubal, going a combined 4-for-18 (.222), but one of those hits was a two-run home run by future Hall of Famer Yadier Molina.
Five of the probable Tigers batters Wednesday, meanwhile, have owned Lester. They are a combined 24-for-52 (.462) against him, with a pair of home runs. Another player headed for Cooperstown, Miguel Cabrera, leads the way with a 15-for-28 (.536) clip. Miggy’s coming off a memorable weekend.
WELCOME TO THE 500 CLUB, MIGUEL CABRERA 🙌
(via @tigers)pic.twitter.com/XASaD3QNYE
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 22, 2021
Tigers vs Cardinals Pick
The Cardinals are the contending team in this spot. They’re at home. They have a better record this month than the Tigers. But, in this spot, the wrong team is favored.
Based on the starting pitchers and Detroit’s flat-out ownership of Lester, manager AJ Hinch’s club is the pick Wednesday.
The Pick: Tigers moneyline (+140)
Blair Johnson is a veteran journalist and seasoned sports content creator. He has been writing and producing content as long as he can remember, with such familiar names as CNN, NFL Media and Yahoo. Blair currently lives and works in the greater Los Angeles area.
