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I hit the wall again with baseball yesterday when I mistakenly thought Paul Skenes and Zack Wheeler were going to pitch a pitcher’s duel. Skenes gave up five runs in the second inning. Wheeler was better, but it wasn’t much better as he allowed four earned runs. Two top pitchers in the league combined to allow 11 runs. We still have a pretty strong slate today, so let’s find a winner in the Cardinals vs. Braves game.
St. Louis Cardinals are putting together a strong year. I’ve brought up the halfway mark of the season in a few articles recently, and the Cardinals are over .500 for that checkpoint. The bad news for them is that they are still 8.5 games behind the Brewers in the division and the Cubs are ahead of them. Plus, only the Reds are more than a game under .500 in the division. Trying to get into the postseason is likely going to be very complex for all of these NL Central teams. However, it is too early to think about that; they just have to win all they can.
St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Dustin May reacts after throwing a complete game one-hitter against the San Diego Padres at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Mo., on June 15, 2026. (Jeff Curry/Imagn Images)
Looking to position them for a win in today’s game and the series is Dustin May. In May’s first season with the Cardinals, he is 5-6 for the season with a 4.30 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. The bad news for him and the Cardinals is that a road game is the worst case scenario for May this season. He has a 6.81 day game ERA compared to a 2.05 night game. On the road, he pitches to a 4.79 ERA compared to a 3.94 home ERA. His last game was against the Royals and it was a road game where he allowed six earned runs in two innings of work. In 70 at-bats against May, the Braves have just 14 hits. Half of those hits have come from Mike Yastrzemski, so the rest of the team is 7-for-56 against him.
Mike Yastrzemski of the Atlanta Braves reacts during a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Truist Park in Atlanta, Ga., on June 6, 2026. (Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
The Atlanta Braves started the season as basically the best team in baseball. They remain in control of their division, but the Phillies have been hot on their heels since firing their manager. I suppose even before the season we could have predicted that the Braves and Phillies would be the top two teams in the division. Maybe some would have included the Mets, but for me these were my two choices. The Braves are 50-34 and really don’t need to make a move at the deadline. They could probably just enjoy full health with the team.
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I think part of the reason they have today’s starter, Hurston Waldrep, is because of some injuries on the team. Spencer Strider is on the injured list and the Braves are still looking for a replacement for his production. Waldrep is making just his second appearance for the Braves this season. He went just two innings in relief Friday against the Giants. He allowed two hits, four walks and three strikeouts, so he was kind of all over the place. Maybe it was nerves, but he has to control the walks. He had a good season in 2025, starting nine games and pitching to a 2.88 ERA and 1.19 WHIP.
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Atlanta Braves’ Matt Olson hits a two-run home run in the sixth inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Tuesday, July 12, 2022, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
The Cardinals are not a strikeout-prone team; they rank fifth in fewest strikeouts per match with only 7.73. Waldrep averages about one strikeout per inning during his career. It will be interesting to see if he can match this. I don’t necessarily expect him to have a great game or go too deep into the game, but at +101, four strikeouts is worth watching.
However, I think the best bet here is to take the Braves through five innings. I like May, but he has shown a few times this year that he pitches poorly during the day. Athletes get into routines, and May might just need a full afternoon to get into his so he can pitch better at night. I don’t love Waldrep, but I think he can pitch a few solid innings and the bullpen can handle the rest. Give me the Braves through five.
