Red Sox vs. Cardinals Prediction, Betting Tips & Picks 6/18/2022

The Boston Red Sox (35-30) host the St. Louis Cardinals (37-29) at 7:15 PM ET Saturday for a meeting between two of the league’s best hitters. For the favored Red Sox (-118), J.D. Martinez is batting .349 this year, second in the league, while Paul Goldschmidt ranks third in the majors with a .344 average for the underdog Cardinals. Boston’s Kutter Crawford gets the start, and he’ll go against St. Louis’ Dakota Hudson.

Red Sox vs. Cardinals Spread and Betting Line

Computer Predictions for Red Sox vs. Cardinals

Our computer pick: St. Louis Cardinals (-101) and Under (9.5)

Red Sox vs. Cardinals Game Info

• Boston Red Sox probable starting pitcher: Kutter Crawford
• St. Louis Cardinals probable starting pitcher: Dakota Hudson
• Game Day: Saturday, June 18, 2022
• Game Time: 7:15 PM ET
• Location: Boston, Massachusetts
• Stadium: Fenway Park

Boston Red Sox vs St. Louis Cardinals Pitching Matchup

Red Sox Starter Kutter Crawford

• Crawford (1-1) gets the start for the Red Sox, his second of the season.
• The right-hander last pitched on Sunday against the Seattle Mariners, when he tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings while giving up one hit.
• He has a 5.74 ERA and 12.1 strikeouts per nine innings while opponents are hitting .254 against him over his nine appearances this season.
• He will take the hill against a Cardinals squad that is hitting .255 as a unit (fifth in MLB). It is also slugging a collective .401 (10th in MLB) with 67 total home runs (15th in MLB).

Cardinals Starter Dakota Hudson

• The Cardinals’ Hudson (4-3) will make his 13th start of the season.
• The right-hander gave up six earned runs in 7 2/3 innings pitched on Sunday in his last outing, a matchup with the Cincinnati Reds.
• The 27-year-old has an ERA of 3.29, a 1.333 strikeout to walk ratio and a WHIP of 1.249 in 12 games this season.
• He has started 12 games this season, earning a quality start (6 or more IP, 3 or fewer ER) in five of them.
• Hudson has three starts in a row of five innings or more.
• The Red Sox rank third in MLB with a .259 batting average this season. They have a team slugging percentage that ranks sixth in the league (.415) and 62 home runs.

Red Sox Betting Picks & Insights

• The Red Sox have entered the game as favorites 37 times this season and won 23, or 62.2%, of those games.
• Boston has a record of 20-14 in games where sportsbooks favor them by at least -118 on the moneyline.
• The Red Sox have a 54.1% chance to win this game based on the implied probability of the moneyline.
• Boston and its opponents have hit the over in 25 of their 65 games with a total this season.
• The Red Sox are 35-30-0 against the spread this season.

Cardinals Betting Picks & Insights

• The Cardinals have come away with 15 wins in the 32 contests they have been listed as the underdogs in this season.
• This season, St. Louis has been victorious 10 times in 25 chances when named as an underdog of at least -101 or worse on the moneyline.
• The Cardinals have an implied victory probability of 50.2% according to the moneyline set for this matchup.
• St. Louis and their opponents have hit the over in 34 of their 67 games with a total set by oddsmakers this season.
• The Cardinals are 37-29-0 against the spread in their 66 games with a line set by sportsbooks this season.

Red Sox Leaders & Batting Stats

• Rafael Devers leads the Red Sox with 16 homers on the year. He’s also hitting .333 with 42 RBI.
• Of all hitters in MLB, Devers’ home run total ranks him 10th, and his RBI tally ranks him 16th.
• Xander Bogaerts is hitting .339 with 20 doubles, six home runs and 23 walks.
• Among all MLB batters, Bogaerts ranks 108th in homers and 62nd in RBI.
• Bogaerts carries a 10-game streak with at least one hit into this contest. During his last 10 outings he is batting .421 with six doubles, two walks and five RBI.
• Martinez paces the Red Sox with a team-best batting average of .349.
• Martinez will look to build on his eight-game hitting in this matchup. During his last 10 games he is batting .308 with four doubles, three home runs, five walks and five RBI.
• Alex Verdugo is hitting .241 with 14 doubles, four home runs and 14 walks.

Cardinals Leaders & Batting Stats

• Goldschmidt leads the Cardinals in home runs (16), runs batted in (56) and has posted a team-best batting average of .344.
• In all of the big leagues, Goldschmidt is 10th in homers and third in RBI.
• Goldschmidt carries a five-game hitting streak into this matchup. In his last five games he is hitting .524 with two doubles, four home runs, three walks and nine RBI.
• Tommy Edman is hitting .287 with 10 doubles, three triples, seven home runs and 26 walks.
• Edman is 84th overall in homers and 96th in RBI this year.
• Nolan Arenado is hitting .276 with 14 doubles, 12 home runs and 26 walks.
• Harrison Bader is hitting .263 with five doubles, three triples, five home runs and 11 walks.

Betting Tips for Red Sox vs. Cardinals

Our best bet is the Cardinals on the moneyline at -101 after analyzing all of the key trends and stats for this matchup. Our computer projects the scoring will under the total of 9.5 runs.