Braves vs Cardinals Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for April 3 (Atlanta Prevails in Battle of Elite Offenses)

Braves vs. Cardinals Game Info

• Date: Monday, April 3, 2023
• Time: 7:45 p.m. ET
• Venue: Busch Stadium -- St. Louis, MO
• Coverage: ESPN+, BSSE an BSMW

The 2023 MLB season continues on Monday with an exciting showdown between the Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals. Each team is coming off a series win to open the campaign as the Braves took two of three against the National and the Cardinals took two of three against the Blue Jays.

The Braves will look to get this series started off right by sending veteran Charlie Morton (116-101 career record) to the mound. The Cardinals will counter with youth as Jake Woodford (2.23 ERA in 2022) draws the nod. Which NL contender will earn a win at Busch Stadium on Monday night?

Braves vs. Cardinals Odds & Spread

• All MLB betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: ATL: (-132) | STL: (+112)
• Spread: ATL: -1.5 (+125) | STL: +1.5 (-150)
• Total: 8 -- Over: (-118) | Under: (-104)

The Braves enter this National League matchup as small favorites on the moneyline at FanDuel Sportsbook. This game also has a projected total of 8 runs, with the over favored at -118 odds.

Braves vs. Cardinals Betting Trends

• Atlanta is 8-3 straight up in its last 11 games against St. Louis.
• The total has hit the over in four of Atlanta's last six away games.
• St. Louis is 1-5 straight up in its last six games against an NL opponent.
• The total has hit the over in each of St. Louis' last five games against Atlanta.

Braves vs. Cardinals Prediction & Pick

The Cardinals wasted no time proving they are one of the better offenses in the NL as they picked apart Toronto's pitching staff for a total of 22 runs over three games. Five different players logged multi-hit games on Sunday and St. Louis now enters this series first in team batting average (.373).

The only problem is the matchup the Cardinals run into on Monday evening. Morton finished ninth in strikeouts last season (205) and has had success against St. Louis in the past. In fact, the 39-year-old has held this lineup to a .188/.263/.333 slash line across 69 at-bats. That is as dominant as it gets.

The Braves are no offensive slouch themselves, either. They finished third in runs per game during the 2022 season (4.83) and put up at least 7 runs in two of their three games against the Nationals. Woodford has little starting experience, so expect Atlanta to make him feel the pressure early on.

Final Score Prediction: Braves: 5 | Cardinals: 3

Braves vs. Cardinals Best Bet

These teams met up seven times during the 2022 season and the Braves averaged an impressive 5.3 runs per game in that span. Atlanta has scored at least 5 runs in seven of its last 10 games against St. Louis overall, too. The Cardinals rank 23rd in bullpen ERA (4.61) and 24th in bullpen WHIP (1.61) so far in 2023, which only improves the Braves' chances of breaking this one open at some point Monday.

Bet: Atlanta Braves Over 4 Runs (-120)

Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel. 

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.