The Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals will wrap up another crucial NL Central series on Sunday afternoon at Busch Stadium.
St. Louis took the series opener, 3-1, but saw its division lead shrink to 0.5 games again after dropping Saturday’s contest, 3-2.
What will transpire in the series finale? Find out in our free MLB picks and predictions for Brewers vs Cardinals on Sunday, August 14.
Brewers vs Cardinals odds
This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.
The Cardinals were set as -137 consensus favorites, and they’ve taken a modicum of support at most sites. St. Louis can be found as low as -150, depending on where you look. The opening total of 8.0 has held firm.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right up until first pitch and be sure to check out the full MLB odds before placing your bets.
Brewers vs Cardinals predictions
Picks made on 8/14/2022 at 9:00 a.m. ET.
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.
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Brewers vs Cardinals game info
• Location: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO
• Date: Sunday, August 14, 2022
• First pitch: 2:15 p.m. ET
• TV: Bally Sports
Brewers vs Cardinals betting preview
Starting pitchers
Aaron Ashby (2-10, 4.32 ERA): Aaron Ashby is far from the Brewers’ best option on the mound, but he’s been a bit unlucky to go 2-10 this year. Milwaukee is 3-10 behind him in his last 13 starts. The southpaw has pitched at least six frames only three times in 2022, so the Cardinals should expect a heavy dose of the Brewers bullpen here.
Miles Mikolas (8-9, 3.50 ERA): Miles Mikolas’ latest start (10 earned runs on 14 hits over 2 2-3 innings) should be completely ignored, as it occurred at Coors Field. Five of his prior six starts for St. Louis were of the quality variety. Mikolas is 1-2 over three outings against the Brewers this season with a 4.34 ERA.
Weather
Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our MLB weather info.
Key injuries
Find our latest MLB injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Cardinals are 13-3 in their last 16 games with the total set between 7.0 and 8.5. Find more MLB betting trends for Brewers vs. Cardinals
Brewers vs Cardinals picks and predictions
Our side and total predictions are based upon our analysis of the line and total in this game. Our best bet is our favorite pick across all markets.
Moneyline analysis
The Cardinals should take advantage of a significant starting pitching matchup in Sunday’s rubber match with the Brewers.
Miles Mikolas was a victim of Coors Field when last seen, but he frequently gives his team a chance, as he’s recorded 15 quality starts in 23 opportunities this season. Mikolas owns some solid home splits in 2022, as he’s 4-2 with a 2.48 ERA and a .208 opponent batting average at Busch Stadium.
Some of Milwaukee’s best hitters have failed to handle “The Lizard King” in the past — as Andrew McCutchen and Christian Yelich are a combined 6-for-34 (.176) lifetime against him with 14 strikeouts.
Aaron Ashby, meanwhile, carries a far from intimidating record into this contest. His inability to pitch deep (4.7 innings per start) has put the Brewers behind the eight ball on more than one occasion this season. His 1.61 WHIP as a starter goes a long way in explaining how he runs such high pitch counts.
Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado both figure to be productive at the plate in this one, as usual. Goldschmidt has a 1.184 OPS in August, and has already homered once in this series. Arenado has also gone deep once against Milwaukee, one of six homers he’s clubbed this month. His 1.352 OPS jumps off the page.
The trends favor St. Louis as well, as the Cardinals are 9-1 in their last 10 home games, and 27-10 in their last 37 games against left-handed starters. The Brewers are 1-7 in their last eight Game 3s of a series.
Prediction: Cardinals moneyline (-135 at DraftKings)
Over/Under analysis
Two underwhelming bullpens should ensure that this game goes Over the total.
The Brewers rank 19th in bullpen ERA over the last two weeks at 4.17. Relief pitching has been somewhat problematic for Milwaukee even before they dealt Josh Hader, as it's 16th on the year in ERA at 3.91.
Hoby Milner has been wholly unreliable of late for the Brew Crew, authoring an 8.22 ERA since the All-Star break.
In addition to the usual suspects for St. Louis, Paul DeJong could also contribute to the cause on offense. Sent to the minors earlier this year after hitting .130 into May, DeJong has come alive after being recalled. He owns a 1.121 OPS over 40 at-bats since the All-Star break.
The Redbirds' relievers have been even shakier than the Brewers’ over the last two weeks, producing a 5.31 ERA — 26th in baseball.
Jordan Hicks has been subpar since returning to the relief ranks, pitching to an 8.68 ERA in the second half of the season. The normally-reliable Genesis Cabrera has allowed two or more earned runs in three of his last seven appearances.
Aside from Cabrera, the Cardinals’ bullpen is primarily right-handed. They could have a tough time neutralizing lefties Kolten Wong (1.004 OPS since the All-Star break) and Rowdy Tellez (.986 OPS since the All-Star break).
Prediction: Over 8 (-113 at Unibet)
Best bet
The pieces are in place for both teams to break out of what’s been an offensive slump so far in this series.
Mikolas gives St. Louis a strong chance to build an early advantage, but that lead could become a tenuous one once the Cards’ bullpen enters the fray.
The Redbirds’ bats figure to keep the pedal to the metal against Ashby and company. The deeper Goldschmidt and company can go into the Milwaukee relief corps, the better off they’ll be.
Trend bettors should note that the Over is 5-0 in the Brewers’ last five games after allowing two or fewer runs in their previous affair, and 4-1 in the Cardinals’ last five games against starters with a WHIP greater than 1.30.
Pick: Over 8 (-113 at Unibet)
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