New York Mets vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction, 3/31/2026 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: New York Mets vs St. Louis Cardinals

Date: Tuesday, March 31, 2026

Location: Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO

TV: Cardinals.TV

Odds/Point Spread: New York (+162) St. Louis (-196)

The New York Mets (2-1) are traveling to Busch Stadium on Tuesday where they will play the St. Louis Cardinals (2-1). The line on this contest has the Mets at +162 while the Cardinals are at -196. The over/under is 8. The starting pitchers will be Kodai Senga and Andre Pallante.

As a squad, the New York Mets are knocking in 6.0 runs per outing, which has them at 5th in the league. They have racked up 18 runs scored while holding a team on-base percentage of .349. The Mets have compiled 2 two-baggers as a unit and have hit 3 balls out of the stadium. They have 18 runs batted in in addition to 26 hits this season, while their team batting average sits at .245. New York is slugging .387 and have been rung up 34 times, while being walked on 16 occasions.

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The Mets have compiled a team earned run average of 3.00 so far this year (9th in the league), and they have struck out 31 hitters. Mets pitchers have conceded 4 home runs and also 13 runs in total (15th in the league). They have walked 12 hitters and their FIP is 4.11 as a unit this season. New York has conceded 29 base hits (8.7 per 9 innings) as well as 10 earned runs. They have a K/BB ratio of 2.58 and their pitching staff has earned a collective WHIP of 1.37.

Mets relief pitchers have stepped onto the hill with runners on base 4 times in addition to having 8 appearances in high leverage situations. The relief pitchers have no holds on the season (26th in MLB). The relief pitchers have inherited 2 runners so far this season and 0.0% of them ended up scoring. The Mets have sent 12 relievers to the hill over the course of the season.

The Minnesota Twins have a tally of 90 putouts thus far, as well as 34 assists and 2 errors. Their fielding percentage is at .984 which ranks 18th in professional baseball, and they have turned 1 double plays. The Mets have turned 68.6% of balls hit into play into outs out of their 270 innings on the field, ranking them 21st in the majors.

Senga has pitched in 285 innings and has accumulated 320 strikeouts so far in his MLB career. Senga (20-13 career win-loss mark) has earned a FIP of 2.96 while going up against 1,196 hitters in the majors. His ERA is 3.00 (95 ER's allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.246. He has allowed 222 base hits (7.0 hits per nine innings) and has had 133 free passes.

The St. Louis Cardinals have earned an on-base percentage of .322 in addition to a team batting average of .292 over the course of the season. They have been rung up on 16 occasions (29th in baseball) and have notched a total of 31 hits. St. Louis has recorded 5 home runs for the year to go along with 21 runs batted in. The Cardinals have a SLG% of .491 and they are recording 7.33 runs per game (3rd in the league). They have hit 6 two-baggers, while taking a walk 6 times and recording 22 runs.

The St. Louis pitching staff have given up 23 runs this year while having an ERA of 7.07 (22 earned runs given up). They have surrendered 1 home run and they relinquish 7.39 runs per 9 innings (28th in MLB). The Cardinals have a team WHIP of 1.929 in addition to having a FIP of 3.64 as a staff so far this season. Their K/BB ratio sits at 6.10 (19 strikeouts against 13 walks). They rank 30th in the league as a pitching staff in total hits allowed with 41.

Their relievers have come in 3 times in high leverage situations and on 4 occasions with runners on base. They are ranked 18th in MLB with a save rate of 50.0%, and they have dispatched 14 relief pitchers onto the diamond for the season.

Out of their 252 innings played, the Cardinals hold a defensive efficiency of 60.3% (29th in professional baseball). The St. Louis Cardinals have turned 2 double plays and hold a fielding percentage of .982 (19th in professional baseball). The Cardinals have racked up 23 assists, 2 errors and have a total of 84 putouts on the season.

Pallante (24-29 win-loss mark in his career) has earned a 4.32 earned run average and has given up 9.2 hits per nine innings. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 1.78 and he has faced 1,983 opposing batters during his pro baseball career. He has given up a total of 221 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.417 and a FIP of 4.3. During his career, Pallante has conceded 472 base hits and he has 321 punch outs in 460 innings.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take New York (+162)

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