The Miami Marlins (0-7) are seeking their first win of the season when they face the St. Louis Cardinals (3-4) in game one of their three-game series on Thursday, April 4 at 4:15 PM ET. ZenSports Tennessee sportsbook has the Cardinals favored with a moneyline at -158.
When: April 4, 2024 at 4:15 PM ET
Where: Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri
Watch: MLB.TV
Miami Marlins Preview
The Marlins are having a horrendous start to the season and it does not look like they will turn things around in this series alone. Their most recent defeat was a 10-2 blowout against the Los Angeles Angels, where they scored two runs in the bottom of the third but never slowed down the Angels from there.
Jake Burger stands out offensively for the Marlins, who leads with a batting average of .310. He has eight RBI’s so far and is tied for sixth in the league for that output. In addition, has an on base percentage at .345 and shows that he is vital to their offense.
The Marlins need offense badly, as they average .197 at the plate for their batting average. They are getting on base with a percentage at .274 and have a slugging percentage at .285, both of which are lower than that of the Cardinals.
They also allow their opponents to have a batting average at .275, which is a big gap compared to what they put up on offense. In their last series, they allowed 6.66 runs against the Angels, which needs to improve drastically here.
St. Louis Cardinals Preview
The Cardinals had a successful series against the San Diego Padres, winning two out of three games. Their last battle against them was a 3-2 defeat, where they had some issues pitching to start but ultimately kept it close throughout.
Brendan Donovan leads them with a batting average at .308 and has six RBI’s that put him tied for 23rd in the league. His on base percentage (.438) and slugging percentage (.500) are exciting to see, as he will need an outstanding performance to keep their chances of winning higher.
The Cardinals are slightly better at the plate than the Marlins, as they average .212. Their on base percentage (.290) and slugging percentage (.303) are somewhat weak compared to the league average, but are better than the Marlins.
They are giving up .262 at the plate to their opponents, which is slightly better than the Marlins current output. In their last series, they kept the Padres down on average with 2.33 runs a game.
Betting Odds
ZenSports Tennessee sportsbook has you all set with MLB odds that currently favor the St. Louis Cardinals for this matchup. According to market analysis, the Cardinals have a 66.5 percent likelihood of claiming the victory.
Miami Marlins: +123
Run Line: +1.5 (-167)
St. Louis Cardinals: -158
Run Line: -1.5 (+130)
Total Runs: Over 8.5 (-119), Under 8.5 (-107)
Photo Credit: © Ray Acevedo-USA TODAY Sports
