NL Wild Card Game Odds

The MLB postseason rolls along with the NL Wild Card Game odds for Wednesday between the Dodgers and Cardinals.

Longtime Poker broadcaster and sports bettor David Tuchman has been picking MLB games all season long and is here to run through the NL Wild Card game odds and provide his Dodgers-Cardinals picks and predictions.

Until MLB matches begin, join the BetRivers sportsbook and bet on your favorite MLB baseball team after reviewing our online MLB betting odds.

NL WILD CARD GAME ODDS:

LOS ANGELES DODGERS (106-56) vs. ST. LOUIS CARDINALS (90-72)
GAME TIME: 8:20 p.m. ET, TBS
STARTING PITCHERS: Max Scherzer (LAD. 7-0, 1.43) vs. Adam Wainwright (STL.17-7, 3.05)
MONEYLINE: Dodgers -245 ML, Cardinals +200 ML
RUN LINE: Dodgers -1.5 (-108), Cardinals +1.5 (-115)
TOTAL: 7.5 Runs (-103/-117)

DODGERS-CARDINALS PUBLIC TRENDS
Dodgers ML: 69% handle, 57% bets
Dodgers Spread: 76% handle, 56% bets
Over: 53% handle,59% bets

DODGERS-CARDINALS PICKS & PREDICTIONS: 

Oh boy. In one of the more unlikely scenarios in all of baseball, the St. Louis Cardinals (90-72) face the Dodgers (106-56) in a one-game wild card playoff. 

The Cardinals won 17 in a row and went 21-4 over their last 25 games, to go from 69-68 to 90-72 in winning the wild card spot. Is anyone in baseball hotter than St. Louis? In a word…yes. The Dodgers look at the Cardinals and say, “That’s cute. Hold my beer.” The Dodgers went 40-11 over their last 51, 37-10 over their last 47, and 20-5 over their last 25, to finish an astounding 106-56.  At 66-45, the Dodgers trailed the Giants by four games. After going 40-11 to finish the year, the Dodgers … still trailed the Giants. By one game. Incredible.

The Cardinals will turn to 40-year-old ace Adam Wainwright who has been spectacular this year, going 17-7, 206 IP, 3.05 ERA, 164 K, 3.8 fWAR, 3.86 xFIP. Unfortunately for the Cards, the Dodgers will turn to Mad Max Scherzer, (15-4, 2.46 overall), who has been other-worldly for the Dodgers since they acquired him in a trade with the Nationals (68.1 IP, 1.98 ERA, 89 K, 8 BB; 15-4, 2.46, 3.23 xFIP, 236 K, 36 BB, 5.4 fWAR, 179 IP overall). It’s going to be a helluva matchup.

Both teams can hit the ball too. The Dodgers are solid, top to bottom with Will “I’m not the Fresh Prince of Belair” Smith (.258-25-76, .860); Trea Turner (.338-10-28-11 sb, .950 with LA) Corey Seager (.306-16-57, .915), Justin Turner (.278-27-87, .832) AJ Pollock (.297-21-69, .892) Mookie Betts (.264-23-58, .854) and even Chris Taylor (.254-20-73) off the bench. (note – Max Muncy (.249-36-94, .895) will miss this game due to injury. The Dodgers’ only black hole on offense is Cody Bellinger, who has been just atrocious (.165-10-36, .542), but is a gold glove defender if nothing else.  The Cardinals, meanwhile, are equally stacked, with Paul Goldschmidt (.294-31-99-12 sb, .879 OPS), Tommy Edman (.262-11-560-30 sb); Nolan Arenado (.255-34-105, .807); Tyler O’Neill (.286-34-80 .912); and Dylan Carlson (.266-18-65).  The Cards don’t quite have the bench depth the Dodgers do, however, as LA boasts Taylor, Gavin Lux, Matt Beaty (.270-7-40) and future Hall of Famer (and former Cardinal) Albert Pujols (.254-12-38) as bats off the bench. Pujols off the bench for a game-winning homer anyone?

The Dodgers have the bullpen edge as well, but the Cards pen isn’t bad, it’s just been overused and maybe gassed heading into this playoff game. Regardless, as hot as the Cards have been, I can’t see picking them to unseat the 106-win Dodgers, regardless of the odds. The pick here is the Dodgers to beat the Cards. However, where I do think you can make some decent money is with the over/under.  While this is a pitchers’ park in Chavez Ravine, and Wainwright and Scherzer are at the top of their games, these lineups can still hit and steal bases and generate runs. Scherzer, by the way, has given up 10 runs over his last 10 IP. The o/u is 7.5 right now. I think this is a solid play for the OVER. Dodgers to win, 7-6 in a thriller.  

The Pick: Dodgers ML (-225 ) and OVER 7.5 Runs