St. Louis Cardinals at Atlanta Braves 6/18/21 - MLB Picks & Predictions

The St. Louis Cardinals play the second game of a four-game series on the road Friday against the Atlanta Braves. St.Louis is 35-33 following a 1-0 victory over the Miami Marlins on Wednesday. Yadier Molina knocked in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning for St Louis with an RBI single to help the Cardinals complete a sweep of the Marlins in their three-game series.

Nolan Arenado is batting .273 to lead St Louis and the third baseman is the team leader in RBIs with 44. Tyler O'Neill is the leader in home runs with 15, while Tommy Edman is the leader in hits with 73 and Dylan Carlson is the leader in on-base percentage at .348. On Friday, St Louis will send Carlos Martinez to the mound. The right-hander is 3-7 with an ERA of 5.54, 44 Ks and 22 BBs.

Atlanta dropped to 30-35 following a 10-8 loss at home to the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday. Atlanta was swept in its short two-game interleague series by the Red Sox. The Braves have lost two straight and six of the last seven. Atlanta is third in the National League East 7 ½ games behind first place New York and 2 ½ games behind the second-place Philadelphia Phillies.

Ronald Acuna Jr is batting .292 to lead Atlanta and the right fielder has team highs in home runs with 18, RBIs with 42, hits with 66 and on-base percentage at .396. Atlanta has hit 95 home runs in 65 games. On Friday, the Atlanta Braves will send Max Fried to the mound. The left-hander is 3-4 with an ERA of 4.62, 49 Ks and 18 BBs.