Blue Jays vs. Cardinals (May 23): Toronto Looks to Change Hitting Vibes with Change of Scenery in St. Louis

Toronto could not get the home sweep against lowly Cincinnati over the weekend. All three games were close, and the Blue Jays won more than they lost, which is kind of their whole season in a nutshell.

Now they are off to St. Louis for a short series as part of their Interleague schedule.

Meanwhile, St. Louis was in Pittsburgh over the weekend and after a couple of close wins, they erupted for 18 runs on Sunday. I am not sure of the ceiling of this team because of their pitching but for now, they are hanging close with Milwaukee in the NL Central.

The Brewers are on deck for a big 4 game series later in the week so there is a chance the Cardinals could be looking ahead.

Toronto Blue Jays vs. St. Louis Cardinals Betting Odds and Matchup Information

Matchup Information

• Matchup: Toronto Blue Jays (22-19, 3rd in AL East) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (23-18, 2nd in NL Central)
• Venue & Location: Busch Stadium (St. Louis, Missouri)
• Date: Monday, May 23, 2022
• Time: 7:45 p.m. Eastern Time (6:45 p.m. local time)

Blue Jays vs. Cardinals Pitching Matchup

• Toronto Blue Jays: Jose Berrios (2022: 8 starts, 3-2, 4.83 ERA)
• St. Louis Cardinals: Miles Mikolas (2022: 8 starts, 3-2, 1.68 ERA)

Blue Jays vs. Cardinals Odds

Odds are via BetOnline. Odds from our other top reviewed and recommended sportsbooks may also be included in this article.

Moneyline

• Toronto Blue Jays +102
• St. Louis Cardinals -120

Over/Under

• OVER 7.5 (-106)
• UNDER 7.5 (-114)

Run Line

• Toronto Blue Jays +1.5 (-205)
• St. Louis Cardinals -1.5 (+168)

Jose Berrios’ best starts have been gems, but there have been a few too many that have gotten away from him this season.

His opening day start was a disaster, but you can look past that one. It is just hard to figure out how he gave up 11 runs in his first two starts of the month and then shut out Seattle for seven innings in his last outing.

When Berrios is on, he is one of the best in the AL. That is why the Blue Jays gave him a big extension in the offseason.

Miles Mikolas has certainly had an interesting pro baseball career. He originally washed out in the AL then St. Louis brought him back to the Majors from Asia after a few seasons abroad.

In that first year, he was awesome with an 18-4 record, but since then he has been mostly injured and ineffective. Perhaps this season he is getting back to form.

Mikolas has yet to give up more than two earned runs in a start this season, even though his stuff is not dominating. He is more than good enough for the Cardinals to win with.

Changing of the Guard for the Cardinals

St. Louis is a fascinating team because of their roster construction. On the one hand, you have vets like SP Adam Wainwright and C Yadier Molina, who are setting records with every start they have together.

On the other hand, you have great anticipation for SP Matthew Liberatore and IF Nolan Gorman – two elite prospects who were recently called up.

In the middle, you have the steady production of 3B Nolan Arenado and 1B Paul Goldschmidt. St. Louis has everything you need to win and seems to have mastered not having to rebuild over overspend to do it.

They are always a threat.

Dry Bats Burn the Jays Again

Toronto was lucky to get a couple of wins against the lowly Reds over the weekend given they scored only seven runs over the three games. SS Bo Bichette cranked out a couple of homers in the win on Saturday but top to bottom the lineup has struggled most of the year.

They have been tinkering too, trying to find the right combination to get 1B Vlad Guerrero Jr. and OF Teoscar Hernandez going. A few of their secondary hitters, like 2B Santiago Espinal and C Alejandro Kirk, are hitting the ball but this team is built to mash, not win 3-1 ballgames.

The starting pitching has been especially good but the Jays are not going to get on a run until they start hitting too.

Toronto Blue Jays vs. St. Louis Cardinals Prediction & Best Bets

Blue Jays vs. Cardinals Prediction: Toronto 7, St. Louis 4

Blue Jays vs. Cardinals Best Bets: Blue Jays ML (+102 at BetOnline) & OVER 7.5 (+100 at Bovada Sportsbook)

The Jays definitely have the look of a team that could use a change of scenery, so heading to a National League park for the first time this season gives that to them.

On the mound, Berrios gives them an advantage over Mikolas, and the top guys in their bullpen should be fresh in support.

St. Louis is playing good ball but you have to think any team might be a little inflated after playing the Pirates, especially after beating them up the way they did on Sunday.

Coming into the season I had Toronto pegged as the better team and just because they haven’t jumped out of the gate as strongly as the Yankees I am not ready to bail on them.

I am not expecting a true bust-out game for the Jays offensively but look for one of Guerrero or Hernandez to go yard. Guerrero is +370 to hit a home run and Hernandez +530 so you could put a little on each and come out ahead as long as one of them cranks one.

Also, you have to pay a premium at -128, but there is also good value in the Jays scoring more than 3.5 runs tonight. They are struggling so there is good reason that total is lined the way it is.

I have confidence in their bats guiding the way to a comfortable win.

Other MLB Content on Betting News for Monday, May 23

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