St. Louis Cardinals vs. San Diego Padres Picks and Predictions: May 7, 2026
Written by: Nate Hornung
Published: Thu May 07, 2026, 11:08 am ET
Read Time: 5 minutes
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Two National League teams meet at Petco Park to begin a four game weekend series tonight. Both the St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres are in second place of their divisions, but there's a whole summer of baseball still to be played. San Diego is right on the Dodgers tail, trailing by just half a game in the NL West. As for the Cardinals, they are a full 3.5 games behind the Chicago Cubbies in the NL Central. Can they bounce back tonight on the road? Let's find out with our favorite MLB Picks.
Check out the best odds on the market at our top online sportsbooks.
St. Louis Cardinals vs. San Diego Padres MLB Betting Insights
Matthew Liberatore will have his hands full tonight pitching against the Padres at Petco Park
The Cardinals are coming off a loss to the Brewers and have now dropped two of their last three overall. However, they are still 21-15 on the year and 11-5 on the road. Could they bring some magic into San Diego tonight? The Padres have strung together two wins and have won three of their last four overall. They sit at 22-14 on the year and 11-8 at home, and that makes sense when you look at their splits.
The Cardinals are tossing out lefty Matthew Liberatore who has had his fair share of struggles this season. He just gave up two runs on five hits and two walks to the Dodgers, plus he allowed five earned runs on eight hits against the Mariners. Both of those starts were at home, and admittedly his splits do get better on the road, slightly. Not enough to move the needle for me.
Matchup Information – Cardinals vs. Padres – May 7
- Venue & Location: Petco Park (San Diego, CA)
- Date: Thursday, May 7, 2026
- First Pitch: 10:00 p.m. Eastern
- Broadcast: ESPN
Cardinals vs. Padres Pitching Matchup
- St. Louis Cardinals: LHP Matthew Liberatore (1-1, 4.50 ERA, 1.50 WHIP)
- San Diego Padres: RHP Michael King (3-2, 2.95 ERA, 1.13 WHIP)
Cardinals vs. Padres Betting Odds
Odds are courtesy of our friends at Lucky Rebel Sportsbook, as of May 7, 2026, at 10:49 a.m. eastern. Sign up today and get a $1,250 deposit bonus as well as 50 slot spins immediately in your account and start betting at the sportsbook with the most competitive odds in the industry, and a wide variety of unique markets not offered anywhere else.
Run Line
- Cardinals +1.5 (-150)
- Padres -1.5 (+130)
Moneyline
- Cardinals +140
- Padres -168
Total
- Over 8.5 (-103)
- Under 8.5 (-117)
St. Louis Cardinals vs. San Diego Padres MLB Picks
Xander Bogarts leads the Padres in most offensive categories: Batting Average, RBIs, Hits, Home Runs, and OBP
Cardinals vs. Padres Prediction: Padres Win and Cover, Over 8.5
Best Bet: Padres -1.5 (+130) Lucky Rebel Sportsbook
I'll be on the Padres to win by two tonight. Their moneyline is too juicy, but I don't hate taking them to not bat in the ninth for a little less juice. However I bet there's plenty of volatility in this game that helps the Padres win by more than one. They hit .233 as a team, which increases to .239 at home this year, and .242 against left handed pitching.
During their last few series at home, the Padres lost five out of eight games. They will certainly be looking to get back into a groove and give their fans something to cheer about. I believe the Cardinals have been playing much better than they will all season long. This leads me to think they are due for plenty of regression which could already be setting in.
Michael King has gotten ripped apart in his last two outings, but his home splits are still better than his overall averages, and this is a spot where I believe the Cardinals bats will stop producing at the plate. Give me the Padres to win a tough one at home.
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Nate has been a recreational sports bettor for about 5 years. In that time, he has grown to love the pursuit of winners and sticking it to The Man. Nate loves data and uses his understanding of numbers to help him be a more profitable sports gambler, however he will be the first to tell you this game is about more than just stats.
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