Houston Astros vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction, 4/14/2025 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Houston Astros vs St. Louis Cardinals

Date: Monday, April 14, 2025

Location: Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO

TV: FanDuel Sports Network Midwest

Odds/Point Spread: Houston (+126) St. Louis (-152)

The Houston Astros (5-7) are traveling to Busch Stadium on Monday where they will try to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals (5-7). The line on this contest has the Astros at +126 and the Cardinals are priced at -152. The total has been set at 8. The pitchers taking the mound will be Framber Valdez and Sonny Gray.

As a squad, the Houston Astros are earning 3.2 runs per outing, which is 29th in baseball. They have earned a total of 38 runs scored while having a team OBP of .293. The Astros have accounted for 10 two-baggers as a unit and have hit 7 balls out of the park. They have recorded 32 runs batted in in addition to 83 base knocks for the season, while their team batting average comes in at .208. Houston has a slugging percentage of .291 and have been rung up 115 times, while being walked on 43 occasions.

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Their strikeout to walk ratio sits at 2.77 and the pitching staff has a collective WHIP of 1.07. Astros pitchers have allowed 9 home runs and 48 total runs (11th in baseball). Houston has conceded 70 base hits (5.8 per 9 innings) and 46 earned runs. The Astros have a team earned run average of 3.78 this year (13th in MLB), and their staff has rung up 130 batters. Their pitching staff has walked 47 hitters and their FIP sits at 3.09 as a team on the campaign.

The Astros have sent 40 relief pitchers to the mound on the year. The relief pitchers have inherited 16 base runners on the campaign and 43.8% of those players crossed the plate. They have earned 4 saves for the season and have blown 3 of 7 chances to get a save. The Astros relief pitchers have earned a save rate of 57.1% and has stepped onto the mound in 15 save situations. The bullpen have a total of 8 holds on the campaign (12th in the league). Astros relief pitchers have entered the game with runners on 11 times and also have had 14 appearances in high leverage situations.

The Astros have turned 74.7% of balls in play into outs out of their 987 innings on the field, ranking them 4th in baseball. The Detroit Tigers have accumulated 329 putouts on the year, as well as 91 assists and 6 errors. Their fielding percentage sits at .986 which puts them in 14th in MLB, and have accumulated 5 double plays.

Valdez has pitched in 906 frames and has earned 887 punch outs so far in his career. His ERA is 3.29 (331 ER's allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.191. He has surrendered 751 base hits (7.5 hits per nine innings) and has 328 free passes. Valdez (69-42 career win-loss record) holds a FIP of 3.24 and he has faced 3,752 opposing batters in the majors.

St. Louis is sitting with 16 HRs for the year to go along with 69 runs batted in. They have put up 21 two-baggers, while taking a walk 47 times and recording 72 runs. The St. Louis Cardinals have accumulated an on-base percentage of .351 and a batting average of .278 so far this season. The Cardinals have a SLG% of .437 and they score 6.00 runs per contest (3rd in baseball). They have struck out on 104 instances (18th in MLB) and have earned a total of 124 hits.

The Cardinals have a WHIP of 1.313 and are the owners of a FIP of 3.76 as a unit this year. Their K/BB ratio comes in at 7.50 (93 strikeouts vs 44 walks). They sit at 20th in the league as a staff in total hits allowed with 102. They have allowed 10 long balls and they relinquish 5.99 runs per 9 innings (30th in the league). The St. Louis pitching staff have allowed 74 runs this year while holding a team ERA of 5.26 (65 earned runs conceded).

Sitting with 14 save situations, the Cardinals have 8 holds and also 3 blown saves. St. Louis has had relief pitchers enter the game in 6 save chances and they have come away with 3 saves. Their bullpen pitchers have stepped onto the hill 24 times in high leverage situations and also on 19 occasions with runners on base. St. Louis bullpen pitchers hold an inherited score percentage of 56.3% out of their 16 inherited base runners. They sit at 23rd in MLB holding a save rate of 50.0%, and they have dispatched 46 relief pitchers to the mound so far this year.

Out of their 1,005 innings on the diamond, the Cardinals have a defensive efficiency of 70.5% (18th in the majors). The St. Louis Cardinals have gotten 10 double plays and have notched a fielding percentage of .989 (5th in the majors). The Cardinals have racked up 127 assists, 5 errors and have earned 335 putouts this season.

Thus far in his career, Gray has surrendered 1,502 base hits while accumulating 1,743 K's in 1,753 frames. He has allowed a total of 685 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.190 and having a FIP of 3.5. He has a K/BB ratio of 2.98 and he has faced 7,261 opposing batters during his career. Gray (113-94 career win-loss record) has a 3.52 earned run average and has given up 7.7 hits per 9 innings.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread or moneyline?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Houston (+126)

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