The Toronto Blue Jays (22-20) and St. Louis Cardinals (24-18) cap off an abbreviated 2-game set Tuesday at Busch Stadium. First pitch is set for 7:45 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze Tipico Sportsbook‘s lines around the Blue Jays vs. Cardinals odds with MLB picks and predictions.

Season series: St. Louis leads 1-0.

Toronto pitching had been sensational of late. The Jays had posted a tidy 1.65 ERA since May 14 heading into Monday’s opener. They had allowed just 3 runs through 9 innings of a 3-3 tie before St. Louis 1B Paul Goldschmidt hit a 2-out, 2-strike grand slam to lift the Redbirds to a 7-3 triumph.

The Cardinals have won 4 outings in a row. The St. Louis offense has been hot for more than a couple of weeks now with an average of 6.11 runs per game on the strength of a .809 OPS since May 4.

Blue Jays at Cardinals projected starters

RHP Kevin Gausman vs. RHP Jordan Hicks

Gausman (3-3, 2.52 ERA) has made 8 starts in 2022. He has a 1.04 WHIP, 0.5 BB/9 and 10.3 K/9 through 50 IP.

• Posted a career-best 2.81 ERA across 192 IP in 2021.
• Current St. Louis batters own an aggregate .591 OPS against him.

Hicks (1-3, 4.21 ERA) has a 1.21 WHIP, 5.3 BB/9 and 9.1 K/9 through 25 2/3 IP across 6 starts and 2 relief appearances.

• Threw only 39-of-82 pitches for strikes while issuing 3 BB and hitting 2 batters in his last outing at the New York Mets Wednesday.

Blue Jays at Cardinals odds and lines

• Money line: Blue Jays -150 (bet $150 to win $100) | Cardinals +122 (bet $100 to win $122)
• Run line (RL): Blue Jays -1.5 (+120) | Cardinals +1.5 (-145)
• Over/Under (O/U): 7.5 (O: +105 | U: -130)

Blue Jays at Cardinals picks and predictions

Prediction

Blue Jays 5, Cardinals 3

Money line

Both teams have win-loss, batting, and pitching indicators that swing different ways, so this isn’t the best series for big investments.

However, Toronto has some recent batting numbers depressed by a low .254 BABIP in May; the Redbirds own a .309 BABIP over the same stretch. The Cardinals are swung around to their lesser platoon splits against right-handed pitching (.697 OPS).

Gausman has pitched through a tough slate so far. Look for a bounce-back after a relatively short start last time out.

BACK THE BLUE JAYS (-150).

Run line/Against the spread

BLUE JAYS -1.5 (+120) is a fair wager.

Over/Under

Peg a slight lean on the OVER 7.5 (-110). Both bullpens could use an off day.

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