St. Louis Cardinals vs. Washington Nationals MLB Betting Preview | September 8

Keibert Ruiz will try to collect his 100th hit of the season (he has 98) when his Washington Nationals (48-89) square off against the St. Louis Cardinals (81-56) on Thursday at 1:15 PM ET. The Nationals are underdogs (+243) versus the Cardinals (-297). St. Louis’ Adam Wainwright starts against Washington’s Josiah Gray.

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Game Info, Betting Lines for Cardinals vs. Nationals

• Game Day: Thursday, September 8, 2022
• Game Time: 1:15 PM ET
• Location: St. Louis, Missouri
• Stadium: Busch Stadium

Cardinals Stats & Trends

Cardinals Batting

• The Cardinals average 1.3 home runs per game to rank sixth in MLB action with 173 total home runs.
• The Cardinals have the sixth-best batting average in the league (.257).
• The Cardinals’ .329 on-base percentage is second-best in baseball.
• The Cardinals strike out 7.6 times per game to rank sixth in the league.
• The Cardinals average 1.3 homers per game when playing at home this season (89 total in home outings).
• The Cardinals have a .432 slugging percentage and are averaging 3.1 extra-base hits per game at home.
• The club is batting .255 with 582 hits (8.3 per game) at home this season.

Cardinals Key Batters

• Paul Goldschmidt has 160 hits and an OBP of .417 to go with a slugging percentage of .616. All three of those stats rank first among St. Louis hitters this season.
• Among qualified hitters in baseball, Goldschmidt’s batting average ranks first, his on-base percentage ranks first, and he is second in slugging.
• Goldschmidt will look for his third straight game with a hit in this contest. In his last five games he is batting .294 with a double, two home runs, four walks and three RBI.
• Nolan Arenado has 37 doubles, a triple, 28 home runs and 44 walks while hitting .302.
• Among qualifying batters, Arenado ranks 10th in batting average, 18th in on-base percentage and sixth in slugging percentage.
• Arenado heads into this game looking to extend his two-game hit streak. In his last five games he is batting .235 with a double, two walks and an RBI.
• Tommy Edman has collected 133 base hits, an OBP of .321 and a slugging percentage of .409 this season.
• Edman has logged a hit or more in 10 games in a row. During his last 10 outings he is batting .395 with six doubles, four home runs and 10 RBI.
• Brendan Donovan has three home runs, 38 RBI and a batting average of .290 this season.
• Donovan brings a two-game hitting streak into this game. During his last five outings he is hitting .176 with a home run, two walks and an RBI.

Nationals Stats & Trends

Nationals Batting

• The Nationals rank 28th in Major League Baseball with just 116 home runs as a team.
• The Nationals rank 10th in MLB with a .250 team batting average.
• The Nationals have the 16th-ranked on-base percentage in MLB this season (.315).
• The Nationals are one of the most disciplined teams at the plate this season, ranking second with an average of 7.4 strikeouts per game.
• In 68 games on the road this season, they’ve hit 51 homers, an average of 0.8 per contest.
• They have a team slugging percentage of .378 in away games this season with 167 extra-base hits.
• They are averaging 8.8 base hits per game and batting .257 on the road this season.

Nationals Key Batters

• Cesar Hernandez has racked up a slugging percentage of .321, a team-high for the Nationals.
• Including all the qualified players in the big leagues, Hernandez is 80th in batting average, 100th in on-base percentage and 135th in slugging percentage.
• Hernandez hopes to build on a four-game hitting streak in this matchup. In his last five games he is batting .333 with a triple, a home run, five walks and three RBI.
• Nelson Cruz is batting .234 with 16 doubles, 10 home runs and 49 walks.
• Including all qualifying players, Cruz’s batting average puts him 114th, his on-base percentage is 94th, and he is 132nd in slugging.
• Ruiz is hitting .251 with 22 doubles, seven home runs and 30 walks.
• Lane Thomas has collected 99 hits to pace his team.

Cardinals vs. Nationals Probable Pitchers