The Toronto Blue Jays and St. Louis Cardinals square off on Tuesday with first pitch set for 7:45 p.m. ET. The game takes place at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO and will only be available on local TV or through an MLB.tv subscription. Blue Jays ace Kevin Gausman will be on the mound for the visitors while St. Louis will give the ball to Jordan Hicks.
The Blue Jays (22-20) continued their weird offensive drought on Monday night, scoring just three runs in a loss. They have been held to three or fewer runs in six straight games and 24 times this season. One of the Blue Jays who isn’t slumping also isn’t a household name; Santiago Espinal is on a 16-game hitting streak — the longest active streak in the Majors — and is hitting .357 during this span. Gausman has been a little more hittable in May than he was in April, but his overall numbers — 2.52 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 57 strikeouts, three walks — are still fantastic.
The Cardinals (24-18) earned their fourth straight win Monday thanks to a walk-off grand slam from Paul Goldschmidt. The first baseman is slashing .438/.456/.859 (28-64 AB) with 17 extra-base hits and 22 RBIs during his 15-game hit streak. Hicks’ transition from the bullpen to the starting rotation has featured some uneven results. He has a 4.68 ERA in four starts this month with 17 K’s and nine walks and five HBPs in 16.2 IP. Hicks used to be the hardest thrower in baseball but has cut back his velocity a few miles per hour as a starter.
Blue Jays vs. Cardinals
Pitchers: Kevin Gausman vs. Jordan Hicks
First pitch: 7:45 p.m. ET
Blue Jays local broadcast: SportsNet
Cardinals local broadcast: Bally Sports Midwest
Live stream: MLB.tv (subscription)
Odds, picks & predictions
Run line: TOR -1.5 (+125), STL +1.5 (-145)
Run total: Over 7 (-125), Under 7 (+105)
Moneyline odds: TOR -135, STL +115
Moneyline pick: TOR -135
Toronto turns to Gausman as its stopper; he’ll come through with another strong start. And the Blue Jays should be able to score at least four runs tonight considering how many baserunners Hicks is allowing per start. They just have to come through with a hit or two with runners in scoring position, which is something Toronto has really had trouble doing lately. That will change soon.
Player prop pick: Paul Goldschmidt OVER 1.5 total bases (+125)
Even with Gausman on the bump, this is good value for a slugger who is as hot as Goldy is right now, especially given his recent penchant for collecting XBHs.
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