MLB Betting Picks August 5 – Atlanta Braves at St. Louis Cardinals
For the first time in close to a month the Atlanta Braves have won consecutive games. They go for the series sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday riding their first winning streak since a three-gamer in early July. And that’s a good sign for the Braves, who are suddenly a contender again in the mediocre NL East. They also have a chance to go over .500 for the first time this season if you can believe that. Touki Toussaint is scheduled to take the hill for the Braves against southpaw Wade LeBlanc.
This NL matchup will air live on ESPN at 8:15 p.m. ET from Busch Stadium. Betting options for every game on the 2021 MLB schedule are available at BookMaker.eu.
Atlanta Braves at St. Louis Cardinals
Date and Time: Thursday, August 5, 2021, 8:15 p.m. ET
Location: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO
Probable Pitchers: Touki Toussaint vs. Wade LeBlanc
Opening MLB Odds: Check Back Later
Braves at Cardinals TV Coverage: ESPN
Odds Analysis
If the Braves are going to make a run for the NL East title they can thank St. Louis. While it’s been a subpar season thus far the Braves got back to .500 with a 7-4 win on Wednesday, their fifth in six games against the Cards this season. The new look offense showed signs in the first two games plating 13 runs with recently acquired Jorge Soler a big part of the output. Soler homered on Wednesday for the second straight game and Adam Duvall added a two-run blast.
Reaching .500 shouldn’t be a big deal for the Braves, who most expected would contend for a division title. But since they haven’t been over the breakeven point all season it’s another step in their late season comeback. The Braves haven’t been unable to get over the hump hitting the .500 mark in July only to lose their next two games. They also had a chance in June to post a winning record for the first time but lost their next four and six of seven.
The Cardinals are playing themselves out of playoff contention and even a home series hasn’t been able to help them. The one thing that kept them afloat was their record at Busch. The Cards had gone 10-3 winning the previous four home series. They need a win on Thursday just to salvage one game. And they’ve struggled offensively against the Braves this season scoring a total of six runs in their five losses.
Probable Pitchers
The Braves are hoping to get the Touki Toussaint (1-2, 4.76 ERA) they saw in his first two starts rather than the one that was tagged in his last outing. Following an injury in March and six minor league rehab starts, Toussaint made his season debut last month with an impressive outing against San Diego. The righty was replaced after 6.2 innings having thrown just 79 pitches. He allowed one run on three hits with five strikeouts in the 2-1 win. He was equally good in his next start allowing a run on five hits over 7.0 innings against the Phils.
Things came off the rails for Toussaint in his last outing when he surrendered a pair of home runs and seven runs in just 3.1 frames in a loss to the Brewers. Toussaint hasn’t been effective during his career. In seven appearances last season he posted an 8.88 ERA and 1.77 WHIP. He entered the 2021 season with a 5.96 ERA in 95 career innings.
In need of starting pitching with Jack Flaherty, Carlos Martinez and Miles Mikolas on the IL, the Cards plucked Wade LeBlanc (0-2, 4.17 ERA) off the discard pile. The lefty has made the rounds toiling for his ninth team since getting to the bigs in 2008. He’s actually been a revelation in St. Louis posting a 2.92 ERA over 27.2 innings of his six starts. Overall in 10 appearances in a Cards uniform his ERA is 3.15 despite allowing 39 hits and 12 walks with a 1.49 WHIP across 34.1 innings.
Don’t expect a lot of innings from LeBlanc since he’s yet to complete six frames in any of his starts. He did match his longest outing of the season in his last start going 5.2 innings with one run and six hits allowed on a season-high 85 pitches. This will be his fifth career start against the Braves and first since 2013.
Bet Braves at Cardinals at BookMaker.eu
I’m not high on either starting pitcher so we can expect some fireworks early on the first five betting line. Despite their inability to consistently strike the baseball, the Cards have some offensive talent and Toussaint is touchable. Unfortunately for the Cards so is LeBlanc. I can see the OVER as a smart play in this one with the visitors finally hitting their stride.
MLB Score Prediction: Braves 6, Cardinals 5
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- Phil Simon, Gambling911.com
