St. Louis Cardinals vs Washington Nationals Prediction, 4/7/2026 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: St. Louis Cardinals vs Washington Nationals

Date: Tuesday, April 7, 2026

Location: Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.

TV: Nationals.TV

Odds/Point Spread: St. Louis (-144) Washington (+120)

The St. Louis Cardinals (5-4) are headed to Nationals Park on Tuesday where they will take on the Washington Nationals (3-6). The moneyline on this contest has the Cardinals at -144 while the Nationals are at +120. The total has been set at 8. The pitchers taking the mound are Matthew Liberatore and Cade Cavalli.

As a unit, the St. Louis Cardinals are notching 4.4 runs per game, which puts them at 13th in baseball. They have a total of 40 runs while holding a team OBP of .294. The Cardinals have hit 11 doubles as a team and have hit 8 baseballs out of the park. They have 39 runs batted in in addition to 64 hits on the season, and their batting average sits at .217. St. Louis has a slugging rate of .336 and have been called out on strikes 74 times, while being walked on 29 occasions.

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The Cardinals hold a team earned run average of 4.94 so far this season (26th in the league), and their staff has rung up 55 batters. Cardinals pitchers have surrendered 8 long balls and also 46 runs (23rd in baseball). They have walked 41 players from the other team and their FIP sits at 4.73 as a team over the course of the season. St. Louis has surrendered 87 base knocks (9.5 per 9 innings) as well as 45 earned runs. They have a K/BB ratio of 1.34 and the pitching staff holds a collective WHIP of 1.56.

Cardinals relief pitchers have come into the game with runners on 14 times and also have had 13 appearances in high leverage situations. The bullpen are sitting with 9 holds so far this year (4th in baseball). They have earned 3 saves for the year and have not converted 1 out of their 4 save opportunities. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 23 runners so far this year with 47.8% of them crossing the plate. The Cardinals have sent 37 relievers to the hill so far this season.

The Cardinals have converted 68.8% of balls in play into outs out of their 738 innings, which has them sitting at 16th in the majors. The St. Louis Cardinals have notched a total of 246 putouts on the campaign, as well as 88 assists and 5 errors. Their fielding percentage is at .985 which puts them in 19th in pro baseball, and have accumulated 6 double plays.

Liberatore has taken the ball for 345 innings and has totaled 276 K's thus far in his career. Liberatore (16-24 career record) is the owner of a FIP of 4.47 and he has faced 1,488 hitters during his time in the majors. His ERA is 4.54 (174 ER's allowed) and his WHIP is 1.365. He has conceded 357 base knocks (9.3 hits per nine innings) and has 114 free passes.

The Washington Nationals have an OBP of .340 as well as a batting average of .270 over the course of the season. They have struck out on 80 occasions (19th in baseball) and have accounted for 87 hits. Washington has accounted for 11 home runs on the year to go along with 51 runs batted in. The Nationals have a team slugging % of .429 and they have an average of 6.11 runs per game (3rd in the league). They have 14 two-baggers, while taking a walk 32 times and putting up 55 runs.

The Nationals are sitting with a team WHIP of 1.608 and have a FIP of 6.19 as a squad on the year. They come in at 30th in MLB as a pitching staff in total hits conceded with 91. The Washington pitching staff have surrendered 59 runs this season while having a team ERA of 6.27 (55 earned runs conceded). Their K/BB ratio sits at 7.60 (67 strikeouts vs 36 free passes). They have yielded 19 dingers and they allow 6.72 runs per 9 innings (29th in baseball).

Their bullpen pitchers have stepped onto the hill 4 times in high leverage situations in addition to 9 occasions with runners on. With 10 save situations, the Nationals have compiled 5 holds and also 2 blown saves. They are currently ranked 28th in MLB with a save percentage of 33.3%, and they have dispatched 30 relief pitchers to the hill on the season.

In their 711 innings played, the Nationals hold a efficiency on defense of 67.1% (26th in MLB). The Washington Nationals have turned 6 double plays and have notched a fielding percentage of .969 (29th in MLB). The Nationals have 77 assists, 10 errors and have a tally of 237 putouts for the season.

Thus far in his career, Cavalli has conceded 71 base knocks while he has accumulated 54 punch outs in 62 innings pitched. He has given up a total of 33 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.495 and having a FIP of 4.7. His K/BB ratio is 2.45 and he has faced 284 opposing batters so far in his career. Cavalli (3-2 win-loss mark in his career) has a 4.77 earned run average while allowing 10.3 hits per 9 innings.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take St. Louis (-144)

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