This should be an interesting and tight baseball game between the Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals, at the good old Busch Stadium. While it's not exactly a slugger's paradise, every hit will have to count.
Taking a closer look at our starting pitchers, Atlanta is stepping in with Grant Holmes, who's had a solid season with a 3.56 ERA and a WHIP of 1.27. He's also sporting 10.8 Ks per 9 innings which is no small feat. On the other side of the mound for the Cardinals is Matt Liberatore. He's almost neck and neck with Holmes, having posted a 3.55 ERA and 1.18 WHIP this season. Bit less impressive on the strikeouts, but still holds his own.
Now let's talk top players. The Braves' front-men are, of course, Ronald Acuna Jr. and Matt Olson. Acuna Jr. is having a tremendous season, batting .337 with 13 RBIs and a fistful of home runs and stolen bases to his name. Olson isn't slowing down either, with a .333 batting average and a impressive 21 RBIs.
On the other hand, St. Louis will rely heavily on the likes of Yohel Pozo, Alec Burleson, and, to some extent, Nolan Gorman. Pozo is batting .313, while Burleson has made quite an impact with 22 RBIs and 6 home runs.
Turning back the calendar we see that our recent head-to-head matchups are mixed bag. The Cards hold a 3-2 advantage, but the scores have gone both ways and when the Braves won, they won decisively.
Regular season records suggest a close match, with St. Louis holding a moderately better win-loss record, but let's not forget the Braves were predicted to come out on top. A bit of a tossup, really.
Looking at recent performances, Atlanta unfortunately, has been a bit cold, suffering losses in 4 of their last 5 games. The Cardinals have fared a bit better, winning three of their last five with a convincing win against Washington recently.
After considering all these factors, I'm thinking this game is in favor of the Braves. However, it'll be a close one just like the bookies suggested. Let's see how it pans out.
Albert’s Prediction: Atlanta Braves by 2