The St. Louis Cardinals host the San Diego Padres on June 16, 2026. First pitch from Busch Stadium is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. EDT. The game will be broadcast on SDPA.
The Padres are favored by -118 on the moneyline and by -1.5 on the run line. The Cardinals are +100 on the moneyline and +1.5 on the run line. The total is set at 8 runs.
Find my MLB picks and Padres vs Cardinals prediction below, as well as probable pitchers, weather report, and more.
Padres vs Cardinals Prediction
- Padres vs Cardinals Pick: Cardinals Moneyline (-118, FanDuel)
My Padres vs Cardinals best bet is on St. Louis to win. Make sure to find the best odds by checking our live MLB odds page.
Padres vs Cardinals Odds
| Padres Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-1.5 +168 | 8 -110o / -110u | +100 |
| Cardinals Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+1.5 -205 | 8 -110o / -110u | -118 |
- Padres vs Cardinals Moneyline: Padres +100, Cardinals -118
- Padres vs Cardinals Over/Under: 8 (-110o / -110u)
- Padres vs Cardinals Run Line: Padres -1.5 (+168), Cardinals +1.5 (-205)
Padres vs Cardinals Kalshi MLB Odds
Padres vs Cardinals Probable Pitchers
| Michael King | Stat | Andre Pallante |
|---|---|---|
| 4-5 | W-L | 7-4 |
| 1 | fWAR (FanGraphs) | 0.6 |
| 3.46 / 4.50 | ERA / xERA | 3.88 / 3.81 |
| 4.30 / 4.21 | FIP / xFIP | 4.46 / 4.27 |
| 12.3 | K-BB% | 10.4 |
| 46.4 | GB% | 51.7 |
| .246 | BABIP | .266 |
| 96 | Stuff+ | 97 |
| 100 | Location+ | 102 |
Padres vs Cardinals MLB Betting Preview
San Diego Padres Betting Preview
Yesterday was not kind to the Padres. They were shut out by Dustin May for nine innings and produced just one hit and one walk all game while striking out nine times.
The Padres' offense has been a quagmire this season. They have the name value in the lineup with Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Jackson Merrill and Xander Bogaerts. However, they cannot hit against right-handed pitching or left-handed pitching.
The running bit this season was Tatis Jr.'s homer-less streak, but that has since ended. Nevertheless, he is still experiencing an overarching power outage, with just two home runs in 70 games. At least he has 17 stolen bases for his fantasy managers.
Machado has caught a lot of flak for his poor performance after blaming "analytics" for the team's struggles. What Machado does not realize is that analytics merely measure players' performance rather than dictate it.
Furthermore, the Padres are on a skid. They have lost 14 of their past 20 games but have won five of their past nine. The offense has performed better over the past week, albeit against the Orioles' and Reds' pitching staffs.
Their current 37-34 record is much closer to their true form than the fugazi 31-20 mark from a month ago.
St. Louis Cardinals Betting Preview
Meanwhile, the Cardinals just won 3-0 on the back of a May shutout. The Birds are hot, with eight wins in their past 11 games. However, no one is hotter than Alec Burleson. He hit a home run in each game from June 9 through June 12 and has six since June 5.
Despite this stretch from Burleson, he is still not the best hitter in St. Louis. That crown belongs to potential Silver Slugger Jordan Walker.
Walker has 18 home runs this season while slashing .297/.350/.553. He has taken a leap in both fantasy baseball and real life this season. If Shohei Ohtani did not exist, he would be among the leading candidates for NL MVP.
The Cardinals also just called up top first base prospect Blaze Jordan and have seen solid returns from fellow recent call-up Jimmy Crooks. The offense could be one of the league's best down the stretch.
Hitting is not the only thing the 39-31 Cardinals have going for them. May, Riley O'Brien and today's starter, Andre Pallante, have all taken leaps this season to help fuel this Cardinals surge.
Michael McGreevy has had the best results of anyone in the rotation, but he is due for regression. Egregious peripheral stats sit behind McGreevy's 2.99 ERA.
The Cardinals are unlikely to make a significant playoff push with their current roster, but their future is bright.
Padres vs Cardinals Pick, Betting Analysis
Michael King is more of a household name than Pallante, but when you compare their numbers this season, the advantage may actually go to the unheralded Pallante.
- King in 2026: 3.46 ERA, 4.50 xERA, 4.21 xFIP, 4.27 SIERA
- Pallante in 2026: 3.88 ERA, 3.81 xERA, 4.27 xFIP, 4.33 SIERA
Both have similar xFIP and SIERA marks, but Pallante allows much softer contact, as evidenced by his lower xERA. He's also stepped up over the past month, posting a 2.96 ERA, 2.92 xERA, 3.86 xFIP, a 15.2% K-BB rate and a 1.10 WHIP since May 17.
San Diego is also likely to be without the best reliever in baseball tonight. Mason Miller was placed on the bereavement list yesterday and should miss another game. That leaves the Padres more vulnerable in the bullpen, especially considering Adrian Morejon, Jason Adam and Bradgley Rodriguez have each pitched twice over the past three days.
Most importantly, the Cardinals have been the better offense against right-handed pitching. St. Louis ranks 11th in wRC+ (104), while San Diego ranks 28th (87). On top of that, the Cardinals rank second in baseball offensively over the past two weeks, while the Padres rank dead last.
Pick: Cardinals Moneyline (-118, FanDuel)
