St. Louis Cardinals vs Washington Nationals Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 04/08/26

The Cardinals and Nationals are set for the rubber match of their 3-game series on Wednesday afternoon at Nationals Park. The first 2 games of the series have been extremely high-scoring, as Washington won the opener 9-6 on Monday and St. Louis responded with a 7-6 win in 10 innings on Tuesday. Wednesday’s finale could be more of the same. The Cardinals are top-5 in the league in total runs and home runs, and have now scored 5 or more runs in 4 straight games. The Cardinals will face a familiar opponent, as Washington starter Miles Mikolas spent the last 7 years of his career in St. Louis. Mikolas has allowed plenty of hard contact over recent seasons, and is off to a disastrous start in 2026. He has allowed 17 hits and 15 earned runs over 9.1 innings, and the Nationals have allowed 23 total runs in his 2 starts.

St. Louis starter Michael McGreevy is off to a strong start, but the Cardinal bullpen is not trustworthy whatsoever. St. Louis relievers own a 5.67 ERA so far this season, which is among the worst in baseball. Washington’s bullpen has been even worse, as the Nats rank 28th with a 6.39 bullpen ERA. Furthermore, both bullpens are rather spent after the high-scoring affairs to begin this series. Both managers could be dealing with limited options from their relievers. With that in mind, look to the over.

Cardinals vs Nationals prediction: Over 8.5 (-105) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.