The St. Louis Cardinals and Toronto Blue Jays square off on Wednesday with first pitch set for 7:07 p.m. EST. The game takes place at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario and will only be available on local TV or through an MLB.tv subscription. Adam Wainright will be on the hill for the Redbirds while the Jays will send Kevin Gausman to the bump.
The Cardinals have a loaded roster and have a potential MVP candidate having a bit of a career resurgence. But unfortunately, the team's two best position players won't be available to St. Louis for this game. Both Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado were unable to make the road trip to Canada due to their COVID-19 vaccination status. That proved costly in the opening game of this two-game set yesterday, with STL falling 10-3.
The Blue Jays took advantage of a weakened Cards lineup yesterday and got an easy win. It won't be as easy today with Wainright on the hill. He's been good this season, but without Goldschmidt and Arenado, the sharpest teeth in the Cardinals offense are taken away. Plus, Gausman has been pretty good himself this season. In his lone appearance against St. Louis, he tossed six innings, allowed just four hits and gave up no runs. This was against the full force of the Cards lineup too, so today should be easier for him.
Cardinals vs. Blue Jays
Pitchers: Adam Wainright vs. Kevin Gausman
First pitch: 7:07 p.m. EST
Cardinals local broadcast: Bally Sports Midwest
Blue Jays local broadcast: SportsNet
Live stream: MLB.tv (subscription)
Odds, picks & predictions
Run Line: Blue Jays -1.5
Run total: 8
Moneyline odds: Blue Jays -250, Cardinals +215
Moneyline pick: Blue Jays -250
The Jays are on a hot streak, having won nine of 10. Their offense is rolling, scoring 50 runs in four games since the second half began, and that shouldn't stop today. With key pieces missing from the St. Louis lineup, that should be more than enough for Toronto to get the win.
Player prop pick: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. over 1.5 hits (+180)
Guerrero is the driving force behind the hot Jays offense right now. Dating back to before the All-Star break, he's got a seven-game hitting streak, notching 14 hits in his last nine outings. He's never faced Wainright, but for somebody seeing the ball as well as he is, it doesn't matter who is on the hill.