Mets vs. Cardinals prediction, odds, picks, how to watch

The New York Mets take on the St. Louis Cardinals. Check out our MLB odds series for our Mets Cardinals predictions and picks. Find out how to watch the Mets Cardinals.

The St. Louis Cardinals are facing a real crisis in early May. Some people might say, “It's only the beginning of May and there are 135 runway games left in the season,” which is entirely understandable, but anyone and everyone in the Cardinals camp has to be very worried about this team's position right now.

The Cardinals are not an elite team, and no one thought this season that St. Louis would dominate the competition in a completely open National League Central Division race. Everyone knows that the top three teams in the National League, in some order, are the Dodgers, Phillies and Braves. Even in a best-case scenario, the Cardinals wouldn't be better than the fourth or fifth best team in the senior circuit. However, in the first five and a half weeks of the season, everything feels very 2023. The Cardinals have some big names on their roster, but they aren't performing at the level they should be. Paul Goldschmidt is having a terrible season. Lars Nootbaar shows off some poor situational hitting in high-leverage moments, like last Saturday in the bottom of the 10th inning in a terrible loss to the Chicago White Sox.

The Cardinals lost two of three games against the White Sox, becoming the first MLB team in 2024 to lose two straight home games to the Pale Hose. This is a completely unacceptable result that must be a wake-up call for a slumbering team that is quickly going nowhere. The Cardinals are once again in last place in the NL Central, several games under .500. The National League currently has five clear playoff-quality teams, and the Cardinals are not one of them. If St. Louis can't top .500 by Memorial Day, the Cardinals will face a very steep climb over the summer to position themselves for the final wild-card spot in the National League.

The New York Mets aren't having as bad a season as the Cardinals, but they just endured an absolutely brutal weekend against the Tampa Bay Rays. They were defeated on Sunday because star closer Edwin Diaz allowed a game-winning home run to Randy Arozarena in the bottom of the ninth. New York couldn't defend its 5-4 lead and had to go into extra inning. The Mets took a 6-5 lead in the 10th inning, but gave it up in the bottom of the 10th inning and lost 7-6. The Mets need to dust themselves off and get back on their feet against the struggling Cardinals.

Here are the Mets-Cardinals MLB odds: Courtesy of FanDuel.

MLB Odds: Mets-Cardinals Odds

New York Mets: +1.5 (-200)

St. Louis Cardinals: -1.5 (+164)

Over: 8 (-115)

Under: 8 (-105)

Here's how to watch Mets vs. Cardinals

TV: SNY (Mets) / Bally Sports Midwest (Cardinals) / MLB Extra Innings

Stream: MLB.tv

Time: 7:45 p.m. ET/4:45 p.m. PT

*Watch Mets-Cardinals LIVE on fuboTV (click for free trial)*

Why the Mets could cover the spread

The Cardinals are a bad team. They just lost two of three home games against the woeful Chicago White Sox. As mentioned above, the Cardinals became the first MLB team this year to lose consecutive home games to the White Sox. What's worse for St. Louis is their poor offense. The Cardinals scored a total of nine runs in three games against the White Sox, who were pitching at home. Excluding a five-run fifth inning from Saturday's game against Chicago, the Cardinals scored a total of four runs in 26 of the 27 innings they played against the White Sox. On Saturday against the Sox, they had a bases-loaded, no-out situation in the bottom of the 10th and couldn't score. Situational hitting and crucial-minute attacks are unheard of for a team in last place. Compared to the Mets, the Cardinals are in much worse shape.

Why the Cardinals could cover the spread

The Cardinals aren't doing well, but the Mets are struggling after their bullpen troubles on Sunday and their brutal weekend against the Tampa Bay Rays. New York plays bad baseball, and that's the best reason to choose St. Louis.

Final Mets-Cardinals prediction and picks

Neither team is remotely reliable. Stay away from this game.

Final Mets-Cardinals Prediction and Pick: Mets +1.5