MLB Picks 9/1 – St. Louis Cardinals @ New York Yankees

MLB Picks 9/1 – St. Louis Cardinals @ New York Yankees

by Thomas Quaynor for Wannamakeabet.com

The St. Louis Cardinals (68-68) visit the AL-leading New York Yankees (79-57) in the series rubber match this afternoon at Yankee Stadium. This is the only meeting of the season between these teams. St. Louis is playing a regular season series in New York for the first time since April 2017. St. Louis has won six of the last eight against New York dating back to the 2022 season. 

New York won the series opener 6-3 on Friday night behind the efforts of rookie catcher Austin Wells. The 25-year-old Wells hit two-run homers in the third and eighth innings for the Yankees. It was the first multihomer game of Wells’ career. Marcus Stroman struck out five and gave up two earned runs over seven innings in picking up his third straight win. It was Stroman’s longest outing since May 31 at San Francisco.

St. Louis avenged Friday night’s loss by holding on for a 6-5 win yesterday. Second baseman Brendan Donovan connected on a three-run homer in the third inning that gave St. Louis a 4-1 lead. St. Louis scored four of their six runs in the decisive third inning. Kyle Gibson struck out six and gave up one earned run over seven innings in picking up his eighth win of the season. It was Cardinals first ever regular season win at Yankee Stadium.

This afternoon’s starter are Miles Mikolas (8-10, 5.23 ERA, 102 K’s in 27 starts) for St. Louis and Nestor Cortes (8-10, 3.89 ERA, 142 K’s in 27 starts) for New York. 

MLB Picks 9/1 – St. Louis Cardinals @ New York Yankees

GAME ODDS

Moneyline: St. Louis +176,   New York -210

Run Line: St. Louis +1.5 (-115),   New York -1.5 (-105)

Run Total: over 9 (-110)   under 9 (-110)

GAME STORYLINES: ST. LOUIS

After establishing themselves as one of the premier franchises in baseball since the 1960’s, the St. Louis Cardinals have hit a rough patch over the past two seasons. Last season St. Louis finished 71-91, it was their worst mark since going 70-92 way back in 1990. This season hasn’t been much better for the Cardinals as they’ve hovered around the .500 mark for the entire season and will likely miss the postseason for a second straight year. 

A big reason for St. Louis’ recent regression is a lack of power in the lineup and inconsistent pitching. The Cardinals rank among the bottom of half of MLB in both hitting and pitching. Veterans Paul Goldschmidt (age 36) and Nolan Arenado (age 33) are no longer able to carry the team offensively as they did for many seasons. The Cardinals attempt to rebuild their starting pitching staff with aging veterans has produced uneven results.

At the plate, second-year outfielder Alec Burleson has emerged as a star this year for St. Louis. The 25-year-old Burleson is hitting .281 with 21 homers and 72 RBI across 127 games. He leads the Cardinals in homers and RBI. He enters today’s game on a 7-game hit streak. 

Former NL MVP and 7-time All-Star Paul Goldschmidt (.240, 20 HR, 55 RBI in 129 games), 8-time All-Star Nolan Arenado (.270, 15 HR, 63 RBI in 129 games) and rookie shortstop Masyn Winn (.282, 12 HR, 47 RBI, 10 steals, 4 triples in 127 games) are having nice seasons for St. Louis. Despite the diminished power production from Goldschmidt and Arenado, they are still very capable hitters who can get hot and carry the offensive load for stretches. The 22-year-old rookie Wynn has thrived since being moved to the leadoff spot early in the season. He’s one of the top rookies in MLB this year. 

MLB Picks 9/1 – St. Louis Cardinals @ New York Yankees

The veteran duo of Sonny Gray (12-9, 3.96 ERA, 179:36 K:BB in 25 starts) and Kyle Gibson (8-6, 4.39 ERA, 134 K’s in 26 starts) have put together solid seasons for St. Louis. Both players were added as free agents in the offseason. The 34-year-old, three-time All-Star Gray is producing one of the best seasons of his 12-year MLB career. He’s 3 wins shy of establishing a career high and his 179 strikeouts ranks 6th in MLB. The 36-year-old Gibson won a career-high 15 games with Baltimore last season.

GAME STORYLINES: NEW YORK

Last season an assortment of injuries to star players – Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Rizzo, Nestor Cortes – reduced the mighty New York Yankees to an 82-80 record and a fourth place finish in the ultra-competitive American League East. The 2023 Yankees finished with 17 fewer wins then they had in 2022. It was their worst record since going 76-86 in 1992. New York also missed the postseason for the first time since 2016. 

New York made a big splash in the offseason when they traded for 25-year-old superstar Juan Soto last December. Soto hit a career-high 35 homers with San Diego in 2023. The addition of Soto, along with a healthy season from Aaron Judge now has the Yankees back atop the baseball standings in 2024. The Yankees own the best record in the American League at 79-57 and the fourth best record overall in baseball. 

The duo of Aaron Judge and Juan Soto have been electrifying for the Yankees this season. The incomprable Judge is having a historic season this year. He’s hitting .330 with 51 homers, 123 RBI, 111 walks, 105 runs scored and 31 doubles over 134 games. Judge leads MLB in homers, RBI and walks, while his .330 batting average ranks second to Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. He has surpassed the 50-homer mark for the third time in his career and is on pace to hit 60+ homers for a second time. Judge will likely take home his second AL MVP award at the end of the season.

Meanwhile, Juan Soto is batting .295 with a career-high 37 homers, 96 RBI, 109 walks and 109 runs scored over 132 games. He’s been spectacular in his first season wearing the pinstripes. Soto was named an All-Star for the fourth straight season and was voted in as a starter alongside Judge. Soto is set to become a free agent after the season and there will be tremendous pressure on the Yankees to lock him up to a long term deal. There have been chants of “Re-Sign Soto!” from fans during Yankee games of late.

Slugger Giancarlo Stanton (.241, 23 HR, 60 RBI in 93 games) and trade deadline acquisition Jazz Chisolm Jr. (.314, 9 HR, 14 RBI, 6 steals in 22 games with New York) have been terrific in complimentary roles alongside they dynamic duo of Aaron Judge and Juan Soto. New York slumped badly – losing 15 of 20 games – when the oft-injured Stanton missed about 5 weeks with a left hamstring strain. His absence exposed the Yankees for not having a lot of depth in their lineup outside of Judge and Soto. 

MLB Picks 9/1 – St. Louis Cardinals @ New York Yankees

New York added Jazz Chisolm Jr. on July 27 and he’s been terrific as he’s homered 9 times in 22 games wearing the pinstripes. The 26-year-old Chisolm has hit 22 homers between Miami and New York this season, which is a career-high for the fourth-year speedster.  Chisolm went 3-for-4 in yesterday’s loss to St. Louis. The return of a healthy Stanton and the addition of Chisolm has provided protection for Judge and Soto in the lineup and propelled the Yankees back atop the American Leage East. 

THE PICK: YANKEES (Run Line)

After a tough loss yesterday at home to the Cardinals, I think they come out and hammer them this afternoon. Take the Yankees on the run line this afternoon!

MLB Picks 9/1 – St. Louis Cardinals @ New York Yankees