St. Louis Cardinals vs. Washington Nationals ML Pick

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Washington Nationals
Date: Monday, June 19th, 4:05 ET
Location: Nationals Park
TV: MASN
Money Line: Cardinals -154/Nationals +130
Total Line: 9.5

Betting Preview

Here’s our betting preview for the upcoming MLB clash between the Washington Nationals and the Cardinals on Monday, June 19th at Nationals Park. We provide you with a comprehensive analysis, odds, and predictions to help with your handicapping decision or tail our expert based on the projected lineups and listed starting pitchers.

Betting Odds

Cardinals vs. Nationals Projected Lineup

	Batting Order	Position
Brendan Donovan	1	2B
Paul Goldschmidt	2	1B
Nolan Gorman	3	2B
Nolan Arenado	4	3B
Willson Contreras	5	C
Dylan Carlson	6	CF
Jordan Walker	7	RF
Paul DeJong	8	SS
Tommy Edman	9	SS
Jack Flaherty	–	SP




	Batting Order	Position
Lane Thomas	1	RF
Luis García	2	2B
Jeimer Candelario	3	3B
Joey Meneses	4	DH
Corey Dickerson	5	LF
Keibert Ruiz	6	C
Dominic Smith	7	1B
Victor Robles	8	CF
CJ Abrams	9	SS
Josiah Gray	–	SP




Straight Up/Over-Under/ Runline Record

St. Louis Cardinals: 29-43 SU / OU 36-36 / Runline 31-41
Washington Nationals: 27-43 SU / OU 32-36 / Runline 41-29

As they take on the Nationals, the Cardinals have an overall record of 29-43 and are currently last in the NL Central. However, they have rattled off two straight wins. At home, St. Louis has a mark of 13-21 compared to 16-22 on the road. Their series record sits at 6-13-3.

• The Cardinals have covered the runline in two straight games and have a season-long run margin of -0.2.
• The Cardinals have been favored in 59.7% of their games and have runline records of 12-22 and 19-19 at home and on the road, respectively
• Through 72 games, the over has hit in half of the Cardinals’ games at 36-36.

If the Nationals are going to climb out of last place in the NL East, they will need to turn things around with a win over the Cardinals. Heading into the game, the Nationals have lost three straight games and stand with an overall record of 27-43. On the road, the Nationals are 15-19 and 12-24 at home. The team’s overall series record is 6-14-2.

• The Nationals have two straight losses vs. the runline and have a season-long run margin of -0.8.
• The Nationals have been favored in 4.3% of their games and have runline records of 16-20 and 25-9 at home and on the road, respectively
• So far, the Nationals have an over/under record of just 32-36.

Pitching Matchup




Jack Flaherty has taken the mound 14 times this season and has a record of 3-5. Flaherty is on a six game streak of not allowing a home-run. His current slugging percentage allowed sits at .398 and he has struckout a total of 75 batters. So far, his WHIP sits at 1.59.

Jack Flaherty took the loss after allowing six runs on 10 hits in his previous outing against the Giants. In the game, the Cardinals fell 11-3.




With an overall record of 4-5, the Nationals will give Josiah Gray the start. His ERA stands at 3.19 with a K/9 figure of 0.8 after making 14 appearances. Additionally, he has a FIP of 4.77 and an OBP of .311.

In his last start, Josiah Gray allowed four runs on six hits to the Astros. Gray pitched seven innings and took a no-decision in the Nationals’ 5-4 loss.

Cardinals vs. Nationals Offense Outlook

The Cardinals have played 72 games and are currently ranked 12th in the league, averaging 4.6 runs per game. St. Louis ranks 6th in home runs (100) and have a collective batting average of .248, including .229 on the road and .258 at home.

St. Louis Cardinals Top Bats




St. Louis Cardinals Top Hitters: Last Five Games




This season, Washington is ranked 22nd in the league in terms of runs scored, with an average of 4.1 runs per game. Although they are not at the top of the league in home runs, they have hit a combined 54 long balls. The team’s current batting average of .261 ranks 5th in the league. On the road, their batting average ranks 8th compared to 8th at home.

Washington Nationals Team Hitting Stats




Washington Nationals Top Hitters: Last Five Games




Free MLB Pick

The Washington Nationals are just 2-11 in their last 13 games. The Nats were only able to muster up two runs in each of their last two games. There’s also been a power outage in their lineup, with only three balls leaving the yard over the last week, tying them for last place in MLB over that span. They’re also tied for last in RBI’s over the last week.

The St. Louis Cardinals aren’t exactly killing it either, however, they have won their last two games in which Nolan Arenado and Jordan Walker parked a couple homers and Paul Goldschmidt and DeJong went deep as well. In summary, the right bats are waking up for STL.

All mumbo jumbo aside, the real reason I’m targeting the St. Louis Cardinals as a bet Monday afternoon is because one of the best trends in baseball is in play which is betting on Jack Flaherty when he pitches in day games. He had a 2.77 ERA in 2022, 2.59 in 2021, 3.18 in 2020 and 1.48 in 2019. His day game numbers are actually poor this season, but I’m chalking that up to being an enigma as he got blown up in a game.

Flaherty has pitched really well lately. If you throw out his last start, he had three really nice starts where he only gave up two earned runs in eighteen innings. When looking at his game logs, there’s a really spooky story-line going on… He’s getting beat up at home and pitching good on the road. There’s enough positive variables here to feel good about placing a bet on the St. Louis Cardinals at -150.