This matchup features the best team playing against one of the worst teams in the National League when the St. Louis Cardinals travel to take on the Atlanta Braves in game three of a three-game series in which the St. Louis Cardinals have won the first two games including an 11-6 win in game two of the series on Wednesday. 

Will the Cardinals complete the three-game series sweep on the road or will the Braves end their three-game losing streak? Let’s take a look at how these teams have played this season.

The St. Louis Cardinals are having their worst season this century as the Cardinals enter this game with a record of 61-78 which puts them 11 games behind the Miami Marlins for the final Wild Card spot in the National League and 16 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for 1^st place in the NL Central. 

The Cardinals have a record of 3-2 in September and are on a three-game winning streak which includes Wednesday’s 11-6 win on the road against the Atlanta Braves in game two of the series. Four of the 11 runs for St. Louis came in the 1^st inning which included a two-run home run hit by Paul Goldschmidt that also scored Lars Nootbaar.

Atlanta enters this game with the best record in the National League with a record of 90-48 which is six games better than the Los Angeles Dodgers who have the 2^nd best record in the NL and have a 13.5-game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies for 1^st place in the NL East. 

However, the Braves have struggled to start September as they have compiled a record of 3-2 and are on a three-game losing streak which includes a 6-11 loss at home against the St. Louis Cardinals in game two of the series on Wednesday. Three of the six runs for the Braves came in the 6^th inning which included a one-run home run hit by Matt Olson.

BookMaker has the Atlanta Braves listed as -300 money line favorites at home against the St. Louis Cardinals in game three of the series on Thursday evening. The teams have split the last ten games in the series going 5-5, however, Atlanta has outscored St. Louis by an average of 5.3 to 4.7 in those matchups while the Cardinals have won two of the last three games in the series by an average margin of 2 runs per game.

Atlanta has the advantage at pitcher on Thursday as the Braves will send Max Fried to the mound while the Cardinals will send Adam Wainwright to the mound for game three of the series. Fried is 6-1 this season with a 2.52 ERA while recording 63 strikeouts while Wainwright is 3-10 on the year with an ERA of 8.10 and has recorded 45 strikeouts.

Adam Wainwright is 0-3 in his last three starts this season while allowing a total of ten runs and recording six strikeouts in those starts with the most recent start coming at home against the San Diego Padres in which Wainwright allowed one run and recorded one strikeout in a loss.

In his last three starts this season, Max Fried is 2-0 with a no-decision while allowing a total of five runs and recording 24 strikeouts in those games with his most recent start coming on the road against the Los Angeles Dodgers in which Fried didn’t allow a run and struck out ten in a win.

This matchup will come down to the play of the pitchers and the Braves have a significant advantage in game three of the series with Max Fried on the mound who has an ERA of 2.52 this season while Adam Wainwright has an ERA of 8.10. I look for the Braves to bounce back in a big way with not only a win but also covering the run line in game three of the series at home against the St. Louis Cardinals which is why I will be taking the Atlanta Braves run line at -1.5 on BookMaker for this matchup on Thursday night.