St. Louis (50-45) and Arizona (49-47) kick off the second half of the season with a three-game series. It’s the first meeting of the season between the two. The Diamondbacks swept the Cardinals last season outscoring St. Louis, 22-7.
The Cardinals went into the All-Star break cold with a 3-6 mark over their final nine games. St. Louis entered the break one game back from the NL Wild Card and 8.5 games behind the Brewers for the NL Central lead. To start July, St. Louis’ offense is hitting .215 (28th) and ranks 23rd or worse in OPS, OBP, and SLG. The Cardinals are 6-7 in July thanks to the pitching staff ranking seventh in ERA (3.37).
Arizona is 2.5 games back from the NL Wild Card as we start the second half of the season. The Diamondbacks finished above .500 in and up-and-down first half. After losing six straight starts, Arizona has won the last two Merrill Kelly appearances and he’s on the mound tonight. Arizona has a six-game home stand up before taking a 10-game road trip across the country.
Let’s dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch first pitch, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
Follow Rotoworld Player News for the latest fantasy and betting player news and analysis all season long.
Game details & how to watch Cardinals at Diamondbacks
- Date: Friday, July 17, 2026
- Time: 9:40 PM EST
- Site: Chase Field
- City: Phoenix, AZ
- Network/Streaming: MLB TV
Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.
Odds for the Cardinals at the Diamondbacks
The latest odds as of Friday:
- Moneyline: St. Louis Cardinals (-112), Arizona Diamondbacks (-109)
- Spread: Diamondbacks +1.5 (-180), Cardinals -1.5 (+148)
- Total: 9.0
Probable starting pitchers for Cardinals at Diamondbacks
- Friday’s pitching matchup (July 17): Merrill Kelly vs. TBA
- Diamondbacks: Merrill Kelly
2026 stats: 93.2 IP, 7-8, 5.38 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, 59 K, 38 BB
2026 Stats:
Who’s Hot? Who’s Not
- The Diamondbacks’ Gabriel Moreno is hitting .301 with 71 hits, 6 home runs and 32 RBI over 236 at-bats
- The Diamondbacks’ Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is hitting .211 with 36 hits and 33 strikeouts over 171 at-bats
- The Cardinals’ Jordan Walker is hitting .294 with 105 hits, 22 home runs, and 74 RBI over 357 at-bats
- The Cardinals’ Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is hitting .212 with 31 hits and 41 strikeouts over 146 at-bats
Rotoworld still has you covered with all the latest MLB player news for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type!
Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Cardinals at Diamondbacks
- Arizona is 53-43 ATS, ranking fifth-best
- St. Louis is 55-40 ATS, ranking third-best
- Arizona is 51-40-5 to the Under, ranking second-worst
- St. Louis is an MLB-best 51-39-5 to the Under
- Arizona is 25-20 ATS at home, ranking sixth-best
- St. Louis is 26-17 ATS on the road, ranking second-best
Expert picks & predictions for tonight’s game between the Cardinals and the Diamondbacks
Rotoworld Bet Best Bet
Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.
Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Friday’s game between the Cardinals and the Diamondbacks:
- Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Cardinals on the Moneyline.
- Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Cardinals at -1.5.
- Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Under on the Game Total of 9.0
Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:
- Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
- Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper)
- Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)
- Trysta Krick (@Trysta_Krick)
Read the full article here
