Washington Nationals vs St. Louis Cardinals Prediction, 9/20/2026 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Washington Nationals vs St. Louis Cardinals

Date: Sunday, September 20, 2026

Location: Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO

TV: Cardinals.TV

Odds/Point Spread: Washington (+125) St. Louis (-145)

Busch Stadium is where the St. Louis Cardinals (75-78) will attempt to defeat the Washington Nationals (71-82) on Sunday. The line on this matchup has Washington at +125 while St. Louis is priced at -145. The betting total comes in at 9. The pitchers taking the mound are Jake Irvin and Quinn Mathews.

The Nationals have hit 270 doubles as a team and have hit 200 balls out of the park. Washington owns a slugging percentage of .426 and have been called out on strikes 1,281 times, while drawing a walk on 528 occasions. As a unit, the Washington Nationals are recording 5.1 runs/g, which puts them at 3rd in MLB. They have compiled 737 runs batted in and 1,289 hits for the year, while their batting average is at .247. They have earned 778 runs while holding a team on-base percentage of .323.

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They have accrued a K/BB ratio of 2.09 and the pitching staff has earned a collective WHIP of 1.39. Nationals pitchers have yielded 204 home runs in addition to 775 runs in total (27th in the league). Washington has conceded 1,312 hits (8.7 per 9 innings) as well as 710 earned runs. The Nationals have compiled a team earned run average of 4.71 so far this season (27th in MLB), and the staff has struck out 1,197 hitters. Their pitching staff has walked 572 hitters and their FIP comes in at 4.72 as a squad on the year.

The Nationals relief pitchers have a save percentage of 48.7% and stepped onto the hill in 154 save situations. They have accumulated 37 saves on the year and have not converted 39 of their 76 chances to get a save. The relief pitchers have inherited 251 base runners on the season with 40.6% of them crossing the plate. Nationals pitchers have stepped onto the hill with players on base 160 times in addition to having 161 appearances in high leverage situations. The Nationals have sent 482 relief pitchers to the mound for the season. The relief pitchers have earned 72 holds for the year (25th in the league).

The Washington Nationals have accumulated 4,068 putouts at this point in the season, in addition to 1,381 assists and 98 errors. Their fielding rate is currently at .982 which has them ranked 29th in MLB, and have accumulated 128 double plays. The Nationals have converted 69.7% of balls in play into outs out of 12,204 innings on the diamond, ranking them 15th in MLB.

Irvin has pitched in 584 innings and has 475 punch outs in his pro baseball career. Irvin (24-43 career win-loss record) has a FIP of 4.96 while he has gone up against 2,512 hitters in the majors. His earned run average is 5.04 (327 earned runs allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.352. He has allowed 576 hits (8.9 hits per 9 innings) and has 214 walks.

St. Louis has compiled 158 long balls over the course of the season as well as 671 RBIs. They have hit 221 doubles, while getting a free base 491 times as well as putting up 693 runs. The St. Louis Cardinals have accumulated an on-base percentage of .316 and a team batting average of .242 so far this year. The Cardinals have a team slugging % of .382 and they are earning 4.53 runs per outing (12th in the league). They have been rung up on 1,204 occasions (25th in MLB) and have a total of 1,250 base hits.

The St. Louis pitching staff have given up 707 runs this season while having a team ERA of 4.28 (649 earned runs given up). They have given up 152 home runs and they relinquish 4.66 runs per 9 innings (21st in MLB). The Cardinals hold a team WHIP of 1.357 and have a FIP of 4.09 as a team so far this season. Their strikeout to walk ratio sits at 8.00 (1,216 strikeouts vs 532 bases on balls). They are sitting at 25th in baseball as a staff in total hits surrendered with 1,319.

They are ranked 20th in MLB holding a save rate of 60.0%, and they have dispatched 521 relievers to the mound on the season. Their relief pitchers have stepped onto the mound 192 times in high leverage situations and on 158 occasions with runners on base. With 175 save situations, the Cardinals have amassed 96 holds in addition to 30 blown saves. St. Louis has called on bullpen pitchers to step onto the mound in 75 save opportunities and they have walked away with 45 saves. St. Louis relievers have an inherited score rate of 40.8% out of their 233 inherited runners.

In 12,282 innings on the diamond, the Cardinals are sitting with a defensive efficiency of 68.9% (26th in pro baseball). The St. Louis Cardinals have turned 148 double plays and have earned a fielding percentage of .988 (6th in pro baseball). The Cardinals have recorded 1,428 assists, 68 errors and have a tally of 4,094 putouts over the course of the season.

Mathews (2-3 win-loss record in his career) has earned a 3.64 ERA while giving up 8.7 hits per 9 innings. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.25 and he has gone up against 162 opposing hitters so far in his career. He has allowed 15 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.402 and being the owner of a FIP of 3.6. In his pro baseball career, Mathews has conceded 36 base hits while totaling 36 K's in 37 innings pitched.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take St. Louis (-145)

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