Wild Card MLB Playoff Picks: Cardinals vs. Braves Predictions 10/5/12

The 2012 MLB playoffs start on Friday night in Atlanta, where the Atlanta Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals are going to do battle with one another. Only one of these teams can move on to a series with the Washington Nationals, and that team will be decided by the winner of this all or nothing game. Don’t miss our MLB playoff picks and our Cardinals vs. Braves predictions for the baseball playoffs!

Kris Medlen and Kyle Lohse are going to be the two pitchers squaring off in this game, and that appears to be a huge advantage to the Braves. Medlen never lost a game as a starter this year, and he has arguably been the best pitcher in baseball over the course of the last month and a half. Lohse though, did go 16-3, and he was rarely beaten in what amounted to be the best year of his lengthy career.

Manager Mike Matheny is going to be managing in his first ever game of this proportion. We have seen the Braves choke away massive games in the past, namely last year against the Philadelphia Phillies when the normally reliable closer, Craig Kimbrel blew a save that would finish off an epic collapse. That collapse didn’t happen again this year, but the truth of the matter is that a meltdown and a loss here in this game against the Cardinals, and it would feel all the same to the Atlanta faithful in what might amount to be the final game in the illustrious career of the great Chipper Jones.

The brutal truth of the matter is that Atlanta is favored in this one by just far too much. Medlen is great, but Lohse is solid as well. The Braves have a history of being choke artists, while the Cardinals have a history of being able to pull things out of their back pockets like you would never believe. In the end, this is a game that just looks too good for the Cards, especially at +150. We have to think that this is almost a 50/50 proposition when push comes to shove.

St. Louis Cardinals @ Atlanta Braves Pick: St. Louis Cardinals +150