Washington Nationals vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction, 9/18/2026 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Washington Nationals vs St. Louis Cardinals

Date: Friday, September 18, 2026

Location: Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO

TV: Cardinals.TV

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

The Washington Nationals (71-82) are headed to Busch Stadium on Friday where they will try to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals (75-78). The moneyline on this contest has the Nationals at +120 and the Cardinals are sitting at -144. The total is set at 8.5. The pitchers taking the mound are Cade Cavalli and Cooper Hjerpe.

Washington is slugging .426 and have struck out 1,281 times, while being walked on 528 occasions. They have tallied 737 runs batted in in addition to 1,289 hits on the season, while their average at the plate is .247. The Nationals have hit 270 doubles as a team and have hit 200 baseballs out of the park. They are sitting with 778 runs scored and hold an on-base percentage of .323. As a unit, the Washington Nationals are notching 5.1 runs per outing, which ranks them 3rd in baseball.

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The Nationals are sitting with a team earned run average of 4.71 so far this season (27th in MLB), and the staff has rung up 1,197 batters. Nationals pitchers have given up 204 home runs and 775 total runs (27th in baseball). They have walked 572 players from the other team and their FIP is 4.73 as a unit on the season. Washington has allowed 1,312 base hits (8.7 per 9 innings) in addition to 710 earned runs. They have a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.09 and their pitching staff holds a collective WHIP of 1.39.

The Nationals relievers have a save percentage of 48.7% and have entered the game in 154 save situations. They have compiled 37 saves over the course of the season and have blown 39 of their 76 save chances. The relief pitchers have inherited 251 runners over the course of the season with 40.6% of them crossing home plate. Nationals bullpen pitchers have entered the game with opponents on base 160 times as well as having 161 appearances in high leverage situations. The Nationals have dispatched 482 relievers to the hill for the year. The relief pitchers are sitting with 72 holds so far this season (23rd in baseball).

The Nationals have turned 69.7% of baseballs in play into outs out of 12,204 innings on the diamond, which has them sitting 15th in the majors. The Washington Nationals are sitting with 4,068 putouts at this point in the season, in addition to 1,381 assists and 98 errors. Their fielding percentage is holding steady at .982 which has them sitting 29th in professional baseball, and they have turned 128 double plays.

Cavalli (15-7 career win-loss mark) has earned a FIP of 3.55 while he has gone up against 929 batters in the majors. He has given up 207 base hits (8.6 hits per nine innings) and has had 65 walks. His earned run average is 3.60 (87 ER's allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.252. Cavalli has pitched in 217 frames and has racked up 240 strikeouts in his pro baseball career.

The St. Louis Cardinals have tallied a team on-base percentage of .316 and a team batting average of .242 on the year. They have struck out on 1,204 occasions (25th in MLB) and have notched a total of 1,250 hits. St. Louis has accumulated 158 long balls this year and 671 RBIs. The Cardinals have a team slugging % of .382 and they are scoring 4.53 runs per game (12th in MLB). They have recorded 221 doubles, while getting a free base 491 times as well as earning 693 runs.

The St. Louis pitching staff have given up 707 runs on the season while having an ERA of 4.28 (649 earned runs allowed). They have surrendered 152 HR's and they concede 4.66 runs per 9 innings (21st in MLB). The Cardinals have a team WHIP of 1.357 and have a FIP of 4.10 as a team for the season. They currently have a K/BB ratio of 8.00 (1,216 strikeouts against 532 free passes). They are sitting at 27th in the league as a staff in total hits allowed with 1,319.

St. Louis bullpen pitchers hold an inherited score percentage of 40.8% out of their 233 inherited base runners. Their relievers have stepped onto the hill 192 times in high leverage situations and also on 158 occasions with base runners. With 175 save situations, the Cardinals have recorded 96 holds and 30 blown saves. They rank 20th in MLB with a save rate of 60.0%, and they have sent 521 bullpen pitchers to the mound over the course of the season.

The St. Louis Cardinals have gotten 148 double plays and have earned a fielding percentage of .988 (6th in professional baseball). The Cardinals have recorded 1,428 assists, 68 errors and have accounted for 4,094 putouts for the year. In their 12,282 innings on the diamond, the Cardinals hold a efficiency on defense of 68.9% (26th in baseball).

So far in his pro baseball career, Hjerpe has given up 2 hits while earning 9 K's in 5 frames. Hjerpe (1-0 record in his career) holds a 7.20 earned run average and has given up 3.6 hits per nine innings. He has surrendered 4 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.200 and having a FIP of 7.1. He has a K/BB ratio of 2.25 and he has gone up against 23 hitters in his MLB career.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Washington (+120)

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