St. Louis Cardinals at Minnesota Twins odds, picks and predictions

The St. Louis Cardinals (63-64) and Minnesota Twins (71-56) play the opener of a 3-game series at Target Field Friday at 8:10 p.m. ET (Apple TV+). Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Cardinals vs. Twins odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.

Season series: First meeting; Twins won 2-1 last year

The Cardinals took 2 of 3 from the Milwaukee Brewers with a 3-0 Thursday matinee victory. Rookie OF Victor Scott II had 3 hits and a steal in one of his more productive games of his young career. The Cards are still 10 games out in the NL Central and 5 games out of a Wild Card spot.

The Twins salvaged a game in San Diego with an 11-4 win over the San Diego Padres Wednesday before taking Thursday off. OF Trevor Larnach had 4 of the team’s 18 hits in the affair. They’re 2 games out in the AL Central and have ahold of the final Wild Card. The Twins are tough at home at 36-24.

Cardinals at Twins projected starters

RHP Andre Pallante vs. RHP David Festa

Pallante (5-6, 4.07 ERA) makes his 14th start (23rd apperance). He has a 1.32 WHIP, 3.5 BB/9 and 6.8 K/9 in 142 2/3 IP.

• Last start: Win, 7 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 5 K Saturday against Los Angeles Dodgers
• Stats as a starter: 5-5, 3.75 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 7.0 K/9 over 69 2/3 IP
• Hasn’t faced Minnesota

Festa (2-2, 4.96 ERA) makes his 7th start (8th appearance). He has a 1.32 WHIP, 2.5 BB/9 and 10.7 K/9 in 32 2/3 IP.

• Last start: No-decision, 5 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 6 K Saturday against Texas Rangers
• Has never faced St. Louis
• Utilizes a four-seamer (95 mph), slider and changeup
• Opponents are hitting .310 off the fastball, .261 on the slider and .209 on the changeup

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Cardinals at Twins odds

Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 2:47 p.m. ET.

• Moneyline (ML): Cardinals +125 (bet $100 to win $125) | Twins -150 (bet $150 to win $100)
• Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Cardinals +1.5 (-175) | Twins -1.5 (+145)
• Over/Under (O/U): 8.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)

Cardinals at Twins picks and predictions

Prediction

Cardinals 4, Twins 3

The Twins are averaging 5.8 runs per game despite OF Byron Buxton and SS Carlos Correa being on the IL. C Ryan Jeffers is mashing with a .320 BA, 4 HR and 7 RBIs in his last 8 games. Beyond that, nothing really jumps off the page about this team.

Pallante’s numbers aren’t visually arousing, but he has been the team’s best and most consistent starter for the last 2 months. He can bring 96 mph when he needs to and is a groundball machine. The Cards are on a bit of an emotional high after 3B Nolan Arenado hit a walkoff grand slam Wednesday, and then they shut out the Brew Crew Thursday.

In a close one, I see the CARDINALS +125 getting this one.

I’ll sign up for DAVID FESTA OVER 4.5 K’S (+120) for the value. He has 5+ K’s in 4 of his last 5 starts. The Cards strike out a lot, and they struggle with pitchers they haven’t seen before.

It’s slated to be 80 degrees with a 6-mph wind blowing left to right. I’m not buying into this offensive spurt for Minnesota. The Cards have had 3 games where they scored 5+ runs, and the other 7 of the last 10 were 3, 2 or 1, mostly the latter two.

Take the UNDER 8.5 (-105).

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