Two teams with diverging trends regarding their respective league wild card chances meet in a getaway day series finale today as the surging Baltimore Orioles visit the sliding St. ET first pitch from Busch Stadium and one of two matinees on a light seven-game slate. Bet $5+ and get $200 in bonus bets when you bet on baseball at DraftKings: Fans can try MLB betting on the best sports betting apps and get bonuses.
They can also check out the SportsLine Projection Model for picks on games like Orioles-Cardinals from the model's 10,000 simulations, as well as from our experts. I'll just say from the get-go that I expect neither team to reach the postseason, and I doubt the players themselves on either side actually believe they will. The young Cardinals (66-68) have overachieved thus far, considering they had a season win total of just 69.5 this spring.
They will blow past that number but are fading in dropping five straight to fall six games back of the National League's final WC spot and with a handful of teams ahead. Louis is +3500 to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2022 in manager Oliver Marmol's first season. That's not happening, and I'm not sure Marmol makes it to next season if the Cards finish with a losing record for the third time in his five seasons.
But the future looks bright, led by shortstop and NL Rookie of the Year co-favorite J.J. Wetherholt (+130), rookie outfielder Joshua Baez and maybe today's starting pitcher in 25-year-old lefty Cooper Hjerpe, who is expected to make his big-league debut. Hjerpe was the No. 22 overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft by St.
Louis and is ranked as the No. 18 overall prospect in the organization – which has one of the best farm systems in the majors. Entering 2025, Hjerpe was the Cardinals' No. 6 overall prospect, and he would likely still be top 10 for many other teams. He was as a Golden Spikes Award finalist as a junior in 2022 at Oregon State but has fallen victim to some arm/elbow troubles as a professional.
He has had a couple of surgeries, including Tommy John in spring of 2025 that caused him to miss last season and led his prospect rating to drop. With Hunter Dobbins out with forearm tightness and rosters about to expand anyway, Hjerpe should get his shot today. This year. in 14 minor-league starts across four levels, he only has one decision (a loss) and a 3.08 ERA in 38.0 innings, obviously not going very deep and basically being used as an opener.
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