San Diego Padres vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction, 7/24/2025 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: San Diego Padres vs St. Louis Cardinals

Date: Thursday, July 24, 2025

Location: Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO

TV: FanDuel Sports Network Midwest

Odds/Point Spread: San Diego (-152) St. Louis (+126)

The San Diego Padres (55-46) are on their way to Busch Stadium on Thursday where they will play the St. Louis Cardinals (52-50). The line on this matchup has San Diego at -152 while St. Louis is at +126. The over/under comes in at 8.5. The expected starting pitchers are Yu Darvish and Sonny Gray.

San Diego has a slugging percentage of .375 and have struck out 713 times, while being walked on 326 occasions. They have compiled 380 RBI's as well as 823 hits this season, while their team batting average is .246. The Padres have tallied 151 two-baggers as a squad and have hit 86 balls out of the park. They have earned a total of 405 runs scored while holding a team OBP of .315. As a squad, the San Diego Padres are notching 4.0 runs per game, which puts them at 25th in the league.

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The Padres have a team ERA of 3.59 for the season (5th in the league), and the staff has struck out 861 batters. Padres pitchers have surrendered 99 long balls and 388 total runs (4th in MLB). Their pitching staff has walked 333 batters and their FIP comes in at 3.86 as a squad for the year. San Diego has relinquished 768 hits (7.7 per 9 innings) and 356 earned runs. They have earned a K/BB ratio of 2.59 and the pitching staff holds a WHIP of 1.23.

The Padres relief pitchers have earned a save percentage of 74.5% and stepped onto the hill in 119 save situations. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 169 runners so far this year with 30.2% of those players crossed the plate. Padres bullpen pitchers have entered the game with runners on base 121 times in addition to having 149 appearances in high leverage situations. The Padres have sent 355 relief pitchers to the hill this season. The relievers have recorded 70 holds for the season (6th in the league). They have 35 saves on the season and have blown 12 out of their 47 chances to get a save.

The San Diego Padres have accounted for 2,679 putouts over the course of the season, as well as 770 assists and 50 errors. Their fielding rate is holding steady at .986 which puts them in 20th in MLB, and have earned 75 double plays. The Padres have converted 70.9% of balls in play into outs out of 8,037 innings on the diamond, which has them sitting at 9th in MLB.

Darvish has pitched in 1,719 innings and has accounted for 2,015 K's in his pro baseball career. Darvish (110-90 career record) has earned a FIP of 3.54 while he has faced 7,069 batters during his time in the major leagues. His ERA is 3.60 (687 earned runs allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.139. He has given up 1,407 base knocks (7.4 hits per nine innings) with 551 free passes.

The St. Louis Cardinals have tallied an OBP of .322 in addition to a batting average of .253 for the year. They have struck out on 789 instances (25th in baseball) and have totaled 876 hits. St. Louis has a total of 100 home runs this season as well as 440 RBIs. The Cardinals hold a team slugging % of .394 and they average 4.52 runs per contest (13th in MLB). They have hit 180 doubles, while taking a walk 316 times and scoring 461 runs.

The Cardinals have a team WHIP of 1.281 in addition to having a FIP of 3.86 as a staff on the season. They currently have a K/BB ratio of 7.40 (746 strikeouts vs 276 walks). They are sitting at 24th in baseball as a staff in total hits given up with 878. They have allowed 98 long balls and they yield 4.58 runs per 9 innings (22nd in the league). The St. Louis pitching staff have relinquished 459 runs this year while having an ERA of 4.19 (420 earned runs allowed).

With 98 save situations, the Cardinals have amassed 57 holds in addition to 14 blown saves. St. Louis has had bullpen pitchers step onto the mound in 38 save chances and they have walked away with 24 saves. Their relief pitchers have stepped onto the mound 103 times in high leverage situations in addition to 98 occasions with runners on. St. Louis relief pitchers hold an inherited score percentage of 34.8% of 132 inherited base runners. They are ranked 15th in baseball with a save percentage of 63.2%, and they have sent 304 relievers onto the diamond this season.

The St. Louis Cardinals have turned 76 double plays and have a fielding percentage of .989 (4th in baseball). The Cardinals have racked up 979 assists, 41 errors and have accumulated 2,705 putouts on the season. In 8,115 innings played, the Cardinals are sitting with a defensive efficiency of 69.7% (16th in pro baseball).

So far in his MLB career, Gray has surrendered 1,599 hits while earning 1,847 strikeouts in 1,848 frames. Gray (120-98 career record) has a 3.54 ERA and has surrendered 7.8 hits per nine innings. He has given up a total of 727 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.191 and having a FIP of 3.5. He has a K/BB ratio of 3.07 and he has faced 7,652 opposing hitters during his MLB career.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread or moneyline?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take San Diego (-152)

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