St. Louis Cardinals vs Philadelphia Phillies Prediction, 8/23/2026 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: St. Louis Cardinals vs Philadelphia Phillies

Date: Sunday, August 23, 2026

Location: Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA

TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia

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

Citizens Bank Park is the site where the Philadelphia Phillies (70-58) will try to beat the St. Louis Cardinals (66-63) on Sunday. The line on this contest has St. Louis at +126 and Philadelphia is at -152. The betting total is set at 8.5. The pitchers who are expected to start are Kyle Leahy and Cristopher Sanchez.

St. Louis is slugging .382 and have been rung up 999 times, while drawing a walk on 425 occasions. They have 557 RBI's in addition to 1,040 base knocks so far this year, while their batting average comes in at .241. The Cardinals have hit 185 two-baggers as a unit and have smacked 133 baseballs out of the park. They have earned 572 runs scored while holding a team OBP of .317. As a squad, the St. Louis Cardinals are putting up 4.4 runs/g, which has them at 18th in the league.

Get all of our MLB Betting Picks

They have accumulated a K/BB ratio of 2.29 and the pitching staff has a collective WHIP of 1.33. Cardinals pitchers have surrendered 126 home runs and 562 runs (16th in MLB). St. Louis has conceded 1,089 hits (8.5 per 9 innings) in addition to 517 earned runs. The Cardinals have compiled a team ERA of 4.04 on the campaign (12th in MLB), and the staff has struck out 1,000 batters. They have walked 437 players from the other team and their FIP is 4.06 as a unit this year.

Cardinals relief pitchers have come into the game with players on base 133 times in addition to having 163 appearances in high leverage situations. The relief pitchers are sitting with 85 holds for the year (5th in baseball). The Cardinals relief pitchers have accumulated a save percentage of 62.3% and have entered the game in 150 save situations. They have tallied 38 saves so far this season and have blown 23 of their 61 chances to save the game. The relievers have inherited 198 base runners over the course of the season and 38.4% of those runners ended up scoring. The Cardinals have sent 430 relievers to the hill so far this season.

The Cardinals have turned 69.6% of balls in play into outs out of their 10,353 innings on the field, ranking them 18th in the majors. The St. Louis Cardinals have notched a total of 3,451 putouts at this point in the season, as well as 1,207 assists and 55 errors. Their fielding percentage is holding at .988 which has them sitting 4th in professional baseball, and have a total of 127 double plays.

Leahy has pitched in 260 innings and has accumulated 226 K's so far in his career. His ERA is 3.46 (100 earned runs allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.257. He has conceded 249 base knocks (8.6 hits per 9 innings) and has had 78 free passes. Leahy (15-8 career mark) sits with a FIP of 3.41 and he has faced 1,085 batters during his time in the majors.

Philadelphia is sitting with 155 home runs on the campaign to go along with 555 RBIs. They have notched 181 doubles, while walking 411 times and putting up 574 runs. The Philadelphia Phillies have an OBP of .312 and a batting average of .241 so far this year. The Phillies hold a team slugging percentage of .401 and they average 4.48 runs per game (16th in baseball). They have struck out on 1,080 occasions (15th in MLB) and are sitting with 1,033 base hits.

The Phillies are sitting with a team WHIP of 1.306 in addition to having a FIP of 3.77 as a team so far this season. Their K/BB ratio sits at 10.00 (1,259 strikeouts vs 392 walks). They sit at 25th in MLB as a staff in total hits allowed with 1,091. They have relinquished 150 homers and they surrender 4.43 runs per 9 innings (15th in the league). The Philadelphia pitching staff have allowed 559 runs for the season and come in with a team ERA of 4.12 (520 earned runs conceded).

They are ranked 11th in baseball with a save rate of 68.6%, and they have sent 429 bullpen pitchers to the mound so far this year. Their relief pitchers have come in 121 times in high leverage situations and also on 97 occasions with base runners. With 109 save situations, the Phillies have 56 holds in addition to 16 blown saves. Philadelphia has called on bullpen pitchers to step onto the mound in 51 save chances and they have walked away with 35 saves. Philadelphia bullpen pitchers hold an inherited score percentage of 36.9% of 130 inherited base runners.

The Philadelphia Phillies have turned 77 double plays and have earned a fielding percentage of .986 (15th in baseball). The Phillies have 1,049 assists, 64 errors and have accumulated 3,407 putouts for the season. In 10,221 innings on the diamond, the Phillies hold a efficiency on defense of 67.4% (29th in baseball).

Thus far in his career, Sanchez has surrendered 654 base knocks and he has 696 K's in 696 innings pitched. Sanchez (46-25 win-loss mark in his career) holds a 3.08 ERA while surrendering 8.5 hits per 9 innings. He has given up 238 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.177 and being the owner of a FIP of 3.0. He has a K/BB ratio of 4.19 and he has gone up against 2,866 hitters in his MLB career.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Philadelphia (-152)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here

Get MLB picks on every single game, or if you want our very best bets by the experts, sign up for your free $60 account with a guarantee.