Cardinals vs. Braves Sharp Report: How the Pros Are Betting NLDS Game 5

Ah, Game 5. The best two words in sports (besides Game 7, of course).

After a walk-off win at home on Monday, the Cardinals forced this afternoon's elimination game in Atlanta (5:02 p.m. ET) and will get to send second-half magician Jack Flaherty to the mound.

Still, most bettors aren't convinced that St. Louis can pull off back-to-back wins to close out this series. Fifty-nine percent of bets have landed on Mike Foltynewicz and the Braves, who finished six games up on the Cardinals in the regular season.

This game isn't attracting just recreational bets, though.

Sharps are opinionated on this game as well, as evidenced by money percentages, a bit of line movement and, of course, Sports Insights Bet Signals.

Odds as of Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET. Check out PointsBet, where Action Network users can access an exclusive promotion to get a 200% deposit match (deposit $50, bet with $150).

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Atlanta Braves Sharp Report

The overall market opener for this game was right around a pick'em, with both teams listed at minus-money. In most cases, St. Louis was given the slightest of edges at around -106.

The earliest line moves were in favor of the home team, as the Braves reached around -115 at a few shops … but those numbers didn't last long.

Sharps were happy to take the Birds at a plus-money price, and our first SI Bet Signal — an indicator of professional money moving the market — was triggered on St. Louis at an even +100.

After sending the Cards back into minus-money territory, sharps got down once more before the price fully inflated, setting off another signal in the form of a steam move at -104.

Steam refers to an overload of smart money hitting the same side of a bet over a very short period of time, and this particular move sent the Cardinals up to around -115.

It's worth noting that the market has pulled back a bit on the number since that point, but with the more gradual nature of that recent movement — on top of being in the direction of the popular side — it doesn't appear to be the result of sharp buyback, and we've yet to see a third Bet Signal hit this game.

As a cherry on top, the 41% backing of the Cardinals has generated 51% of actual money, meaning bigger bettors — the ones more likely to be sharps — are behind the road team.