Cardinals vs. Nationals Prediction, Computer Picks, Odds & Pitching Matchup 9/8/2022

The Washington Nationals (48-89) are +238 underdogs for their matchup with the St. Louis Cardinals (81-56) on Thursday at 1:15 PM ET. Keibert Ruiz has 98 hits on the season and will hope to hit his milestone 100th once the game begins at Busch Stadium. St. Louis’ Adam Wainwright gets the start, and he’ll go against Washington’s Josiah Gray.

Cardinals vs. Nationals Spread and Betting Line

Computer Predictions for Cardinals vs. Nationals

Our best bet is the Nationals on the moneyline at +238 after taking a look at all of the key trends and statistics for this matchup. Our computer predicts the total score will over the total of 7.5 runs.

Our computer pick: Washington Nationals (+238) and Over (7.5)

Cardinals vs. Nationals Game Info

• St. Louis Cardinals probable starting pitcher: Adam Wainwright
• Washington Nationals probable starting pitcher: Josiah Gray
• Game Day: Thursday, September 8, 2022
• Game Time: 1:15 PM ET
• Location: St. Louis, Missouri
• Stadium: Busch Stadium

St. Louis Cardinals vs Washington Nationals Pitching Matchup

Cardinals Starter Adam Wainwright

• Wainwright makes the start for the Cardinals, his 28th of the season. He is 10-9 with a 3.21 ERA and 132 strikeouts in 168 innings pitched.
• His last appearance was on Saturday against the Chicago Cubs, when the right-hander threw 5 2/3 innings, surrendering four earned runs while giving up nine hits.
• The 41-year-old has an ERA of 3.21, with 7.1 strikeouts per nine innings, in 27 games this season. Opponents are hitting .247 against him.
• Wainwright heads into this game with 16 quality starts under his belt this season.
• Wainwright will try to go five or more innings for his sixth straight start. He’s averaging 6.1 frames per outing.
• He meets a Nationals offense that ranks 26th in the league with 521 runs while batting .250 as a squad. It has a collective .379 slugging percentage (25th in MLB play) and has hit a total of 116 home runs (28th in MLB).
• The 41-year-old ranks 22nd in ERA (3.21), 35th in WHIP (1.202), and 42nd in K/9 (7.1) among qualifying pitchers in MLB play this season.

Nationals Starter Josiah Gray

• The Nationals will hand the ball to Gray (7-9) for his 25th start of the season.
• The right-hander’s last appearance was on Friday, when he threw 5 2/3 innings against the New York Mets, giving up six earned runs while allowing six hits.
• The 24-year-old has an ERA of 4.91, a 2.491 strikeout to walk ratio and a WHIP of 1.340 in 24 games this season.
• In 24 starts this season, he’s earned eight quality starts.
• Gray will look to pitch five or more innings for the fifth start in a row.
• The Cardinals are batting .257 this season, sixth in MLB. They have a team slugging percentage of .429 (third in the league) with 173 home runs.
• This season, the right-hander has pitched against the Cardinals in one game, and they have gone 5-for-20 with two doubles, a home run and four RBI over five innings.

Cardinals Betting Picks & Insights

• This season, the Cardinals have won 58 out of the 84 games, or 69%, in which they’ve been favored.
• St. Louis has played as a favorite of -295 or more once this season and won that game.
• The Cardinals have a 74.7% chance to win this game based on the implied probability of the moneyline.
• St. Louis’ games have gone over the total in 66 of their 140 chances.
• The Cardinals have an ATS record of 79-60-0 in 139 games with a spread this season.

Nationals Betting Picks & Insights

• The Nationals have won in 40, or 33.9%, of the 118 contests they have been named as odds-on underdogs in this year.
• Washington has a win-loss record of 8-7 when favored by +238 or worse by sportsbooks this year.
• Sportsbooks have implied with the moneyline set for this matchup that the Nationals have a 29.6% chance of pulling out a win.
• Contests with Washington have gone over the total set by oddsmakers in 66 of 137 chances this season.
• The Nationals are 62-75-0 against the spread in their 137 games with a line set by sportsbooks this season.

Cardinals Leaders & Batting Stats

• Paul Goldschmidt has put up a team-best batting average of .329, while leading the Cardinals in home runs (35) and runs batted in (108).
• Of all hitters in the majors, Goldschmidt’s home run total places him third, and his RBI tally ranks him second.
• Goldschmidt brings a hitting streak of two games into this game. In his last five games he is hitting .294 with a double, two home runs, four walks and three RBI.
• Nolan Arenado is batting .302 with 37 doubles, a triple, 28 home runs and 44 walks.
• Arenado ranks 13th in homers and sixth in RBI among all hitters in MLB.
• Arenado has two straight games with at least one hit. During his last five outings he is hitting .235 with a double, two walks and an RBI.
• Tommy Edman is batting .263 with 27 doubles, four triples, 13 home runs and 39 walks.
• Edman is on a 10-game hitting streak entering this contest. In his last 10 outings he is hitting .395 with six doubles, four home runs and 10 RBI.
• Brendan Donovan is hitting .290 with 17 doubles, a triple, three home runs and 44 walks.
• Donovan takes a two-game streak with at least one hit into this one. In his last five games he is batting .176 with a home run, two walks and an RBI.

Nationals Leaders & Batting Stats

• Cesar Hernandez is hitting .248 with 26 doubles, four triples, a home run and 41 walks.
• Hernandez’s home run total puts him 392nd in the majors, and he ranks 241st in RBI.
• Hernandez takes a hitting streak of four games into this game. During his last five outings he is hitting .333 with a triple, a home run, five walks and three RBI.
• Nelson Cruz has driven in the most runs for the Nationals with 64 runs batted in.
• Cruz is currently 161st in homers and 49th in RBI in the big leagues.
• Ruiz has put up a team-best batting average of .251.
• Lane Thomas is batting .245 with 22 doubles, a triple, 15 home runs and 31 walks.