The Toronto Blue Jays post-All-Star game onslaught continued last night, as they blasted the St. Louis Cardinals 10-3 on the way to their seventh consecutive win.
The Toronto hitters will try to stay hot and make it eight in a row when they dig in against the Cardinals’ Adam Wainwright. Does the wily veteran have the stuff to slow down this white-hot offense and give his team value as an underdog?
Find out in our free MLB betting picks and predictions for Cardinals vs. Blue Jays on Wednesday, July 27.
Cardinals vs Blue Jays odds
This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.
The Blue Jays opened this interleague matchup as hefty -235 favorites and that hasn’t stopped bettors from backing them with the line jumping as high as -290. The total hit the board at 8.0 with the juice slightly favoring the Over as of Wednesday afternoon.
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.
Cardinals vs Blue Jays predictions
- Prediction: Blue Jays -1.5 (-120)
- Prediction: Over 8 (-110)
- Best bet: Blue Jays -1.5 (-120)
- Best bet: Hernandez Over 1.5 total bases (+111)
Picks made on 7/27/2022 at 2:50 p.m. ET.
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.
If you're signing up for a new sportsbook for the 2022 MLB season, here are two of the best bonuses* available:
A) New users can get a no-sweat first bet (up to $1,000) at FanDuel! Sign Up Now
B) New users can get two risk-free bets up to $2,000 at PointsBet! Sign Up Now
*Eligible USA locations only
Cardinals vs Blue Jays game info
• Location: Rogers Centre, Toronto, ON
• Date: Wednesday, July 27, 2022
• First pitch: 7:07 p.m. ET
• TV: Bally Sports, Sportsnet
Cardinals vs Blue Jays betting preview
Starting pitchers
Adam Wainwright (6-8, 3.40 ERA): The 40-year-old Wainwright might finally be starting to show his age. While the right-hander has the ability to spin a gem every now and then, he is giving up more hits than we are used to and has allowed four or more runs four times in his last seven starts.
Kevin Gausman (7-7, 3.00 ERA): Gausman is starting to find his rhythm again. The right-hander has allowed just seven runs while striking out 36 batters in 26 innings of work over his last five starts.
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 Blue Jays have cashed the run line seven times in their last eight wins. Find more MLB betting trends for Cardinals vs. Blue Jays
Cardinals vs Blue Jays 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.
Run line analysis
The Blue Jays are scoring runs like it is going out of style. They have now plated a ridiculous 50 runs through their first four games coming out of the All-Star break and will try to win their eighth in a row while completing the mini-sweep of the Cardinals.
While the post All-Star Game numbers are a little crazy, this Jays lineup has proven they can be one of the most dangerous in baseball. In fact, since the start of June, they rank first in MLB in batting average (.295), OPS (.843), and wRC+ (135).
So, the question for the Cardinals is, can Adam Wainwright slow Toronto down? Well, the veteran is certainly still capable of spinning a gem every now and then. He held the Dodgers scoreless through 5 1-3 just before the All-Star break for example. That said, the veteran is finally starting to show some cracks in the armor.
The 40-year-old is pitching to an expected ERA of 4.48, giving up an expected opponent batting average of .263. Both well below league average.
But what should be concerning here for potential Cardinals bettors is that Wainwright is pitching to a lot of contact these days. He has the highest barrel percentage of his career and is giving up 6.67 hits per start over nine starts since the start of June. That may not play well against this Jays' lineup.
On top of that, the Cards will once again be without their top two players due to vaccination status, meaning with no Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, who account for 40.4% of the team’s home runs and 32% of their runs batted in.
The remaining St. Louis lineup will be in tough against right-hander Kevin Gausman, who owns one of baseball’s nastiest pitches in his splitter. That pitch has helped propel him to 3.45 xERA and a 2.73 xFIP this season.
The Blue Jays have edges all over the field in this matchup. They are throwing one of their best starters out there, and the offense is averaging 8.1 runs per game over the last 10. Taking the Jays by a couple of runs is a solid bet tonight.
Prediction: Blue Jays -1.5 (-120 at DraftKings)
Over/Under analysis
Yesterday, we went with the Under in this matchup, thinking the number was just high enough to stay below. Well, as long as we are getting moderate totals, like tonight’s 8.0, until this Jays offense shows signs of slowing down it looks like we’re hopping on the Over train.
As noted, Toronto is averaging 8.1 runs per game over the last 10 games, and while expecting them to keep up that pace may be a little much, what they are capable of on average isn’t that far off. The Jays are plating 5.86 runs per game since the start of June and it is totally reasonable to expect them to get there again tonight against Wainwright, whose advanced numbers don’t do him any favors while his splits on the road (4.84 ERA, .276 opponent batting average) are much worse than at home.
On the other side — yes the Cardinals are missing their two big boppers in Goldschmidt and Arenado — but they still managed three runs on eight hits against Jose Berrios and the Jays bullpen last night. If they can replicate that performance against Gausman, who does have an opponent xBA of .250, this one should get Over the number tonight.
Prediction: Over 8 (-110 at DraftKings)
Best bet
It seems like everyone is hitting well at the moment, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., George Springer, Alejandro Kirk, and even Matt Chapman is heating up. So, where is the best value in tonight’s game against Wainwright and the Cardinals?
Well, for starters, with the way the Jays’ offense is going and the fact they are sending one of their best pitchers to the mound, they look like a great bet to cover the run line for the sixth game in a row.
But that’s not all. We’re going back to the well with Teoscar Hernandez.
Hernandez is looking more and more like the guy who won back-to-back Silver Slugger awards each of the last two seasons. He is now 8-for-15 with three extra-base hits, going Over 1.5 total bases in all four games since baseball returned from the break.
Look for him to take advantage of tonight’s matchup against Wainwright and cash this bet for us for the second day in a row.
Pick: Blue Jays -1.5 (-120 at DraftKings)
Teoscar Hernandez Prop: Over 1.5 total bases (+111)
