Yankees vs. Cardinals Predictions, Odds & Betting Tips

The front runner in the AL East not long ago, a prolonged slump has the New York Yankees clinging to a wild card as they face the St. Louis Cardinals in a compelling interleague matchup on Saturday, August 16. The Cardinals, making their second straight appearance on FOX “Baseball Night in America” are hoping for a different result than last week’s 9-1 loss to the Cubs. If the pitching rotations hold we will get a nice matchup between Yankees ace Max Fried and the Cards’ 11-game winner Sonny Gray. First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. ET from Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

Yankees vs. Cardinals Game Preview

The Yankees looked a lot better at the start of the week beating Minnesota twice by a combined score of 15-3. It took the edge off a stretch of games after the All-Star break that saw New York drop 13 of 22 games to fall six games behind Toronto for the division lead. Beating Minnesota twice kept the Yankees clinging to the third wild card and the return of Aaron Judge after missing nearly two weeks should boost the offense. However, Judge is still unable to play the outfield and replacing him Giancarlo Stanton leaves a gaping hole defensively. And the Yanks would rather not sit Stanton, one of their top offensive weapons. So, while that problem exists, there are questions about the pitching staff and New York remains overvalued on the MLB betting line. The bullpen is in chaos even after a deadline makeover and the rotation has been rocked since Clarke Schmidt was lost for the year. After a brilliant start to his Yankees career Fried has been in a tailspin sporting a 6.00 ERA in seven starts since July 1.

The Cards are still in the wild card hunt, but dropping two of three to Colorado to start the week isn’t a good sign. They haven’t been able to string wins together in order to put pressure on the teams ahead of them in the race. The Cards haven’t won more than two games in a row since a three-game streak near the end of June largely due to a rotation that ranks 25th in ERA and near the bottom in strikeout rate. Considering the Cards average just over 4.3 runs per game and rank among the bottom third in MLB in OPS and home runs, it’s a minor miracle they are where they are in the standings. Of their regular starters, Saturday's Sonny Gray boasts the lowest ERA of the bunch at 4.06 winning 11 of his 16 decisions.

Yankees vs. Cardinals Predictions

The Yankees withstood the absence of Judge during a 10-game spell on the IL and they still have one of the most prolific offenses in the game, averaging nearly 5.1 runs while leading MLB in OPS and home runs. It had been a quiet return to the lineup for the AL MVP hopeful but he busted out with his first homer in eight games in Tuesday’s 9-1 win over the Twins. With Stanton raising his batting average to .300 and belting five home runs in his last 11 games, the Yankees have a chance for a big night against a mediocre Cardinals pitching staff.

Yankees vs. Cardinals Betting Tips

Most of New York’s positive work has come inside Yankee Stadium where they are 13 games over .500. It’s been a different story for them on the road with a success rate below 46 percent. Overall the Yankees improved to 64-56 with a pair of wins over the Twins. You would think a team that leads MLB in scoring would have a high OVER rate, but that’s not the case. Overall the Yankees have gone OVER in less than 48 percent of their games, but that number increases to better than 51 percent on the road. The Cardinals are an even 61-61 following Wednesday’s 6-5 loss to Colorado. They did cash the OVER on the MLB odds in that game giving them the fifth highest OVER percentage in MLB at more than 52 percent.

Yankees vs. Cardinals Head-to-Head and Key Stats

The Cards won the season series in each of the last three years going 7-2 in that span. The first six games of that stretch were played in St. Louis with the Cards sweeping in 2022 and winning twice in 2023. In their last seven series wins the Cards scored a bunch of runs hitting double digits thrice while averaging 7.6 runs per game. That’s been a big boost in helping the teams cash the OVER in five of the last seven encounters.