Injury Report for Cardinals vs Marlins – Wednesday, August 20th, 2025

St. Louis Cardinals

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Miami Marlins

As the Miami Marlins prepare to face the St. Louis Cardinals on August 20, 2025, both teams find themselves in the midst of uninspiring seasons. The Marlins hold a record of 59-67, while the Cardinals sit slightly above at 63-64, marking them both as underperformers in their respective divisions. This matchup is particularly critical, as the Marlins look to assert themselves in the final stretch of the season.

In their previous contest, the Marlins struggled offensively, losing to the Cardinals, who have been fighting to stay relevant in the playoff picture. Sandy Alcantara is projected to start for the Marlins, bringing a lot of attention as he ranks as the 62nd best starting pitcher according to advanced metrics. Though Alcantara’s ERA of 6.31 raises concerns, his xFIP of 4.44 suggests he might be due for a positive regression after being somewhat unlucky this season.

On the other side, Andre Pallante takes the mound for the Cardinals. His performance has been average, with a 5.04 ERA and a similar xFIP of 3.87, indicating potential for improvement as well. Both pitchers project to pitch around 5.9 and 5.6 innings respectively, and while Alcantara may allow more earned runs, his strikeout potential is slightly higher compared to Pallante.

The Marlins’ offense ranks 15th overall but stands out with an 8th-place batting average, which could give them an edge against Pallante, a low-strikeout pitcher facing a Marlins lineup that tends to make contact. With a game total set at 8.5 runs, sportsbooks favor the Marlins slightly with a moneyline of -125, hinting at a competitive showdown. As such, fans should keep an eye on the outcome, as Miami seeks to flip the script in this crucial matchup.

St. Louis Cardinals Insights

• Andre Pallante – Over/Under 3.5 Strikeouts (-120/-110)
  Andre Pallante’s higher utilization rate of his secondary pitches this season (42.1% compared to 30.9% last year) figures to work in his favor since they are generally much more effective than fastballs.
  Explain: A pitcher who limits has fastball usage will instead heavily use change-ups, curveballs, sliders, etc. These are far more effective pitches at preventing runs and generating strikeouts.
• Pedro Pages – Over/Under Total Bases
  Pedro Pages has made sizeable strides with his Barrel% in recent games, improving his 8.5% seasonal rate to 17.6% over the last two weeks.
  Explain: Barrel% measures how often a player hits the ball at the optimal exit velocity and launch angle and is a terrific measure of underlying power.
• St. Louis Cardinals batters jointly place 21st- in MLB for power this year when assessing with their 8% Barrel%.
  Explain: Barrel% measures how often a player hits the ball at the optimal exit velocity and launch angle and is a terrific measure of underlying power.

Miami Marlins Insights

• Sandy Alcantara – Over/Under 4.5 Strikeouts (-110/-120)
  Sandy Alcantara’s 96.5-mph fastball velocity this year ranks in the 94th percentile among all SPs.
  Explain: Velocity is a key component to fastball success in generating strikeouts and preventing runs.
• Eric Wagaman – Over/Under 0.5 Total Bases (-185/+140)
  Eric Wagaman has been hot in recent games, raising his seasonal exit velocity of 90.8-mph to 98.1-mph over the last two weeks.
  Explain: Hitting the ball hard increases the chances of either a home run or the ball landing in fair territory for a hit before a fielder can get to it.
• Eric Wagaman – Over/Under 0.5 Total Bases (-185/+140)
  Eric Wagaman hits a high percentage of his flyballs to center field (39.3% — 92nd percentile) and is fortunate to face MLB’s 6th-shallowest CF fences in today’s game.
  Explain: This player’s skill set matches up particularly well with the park he’s in today, which may lead to better-than-usual performance.

Betting Trends

• Miami Marlins – Moneyline (-125)
  The Miami Marlins have hit the Moneyline in 36 of their last 65 games (+15.15 Units / 22% ROI)
• St. Louis Cardinals – Over/Under 3.5 Team Total (-140/+110)
  The St. Louis Cardinals have hit the Team Total Under in 25 of their last 41 games (+6.90 Units / 14% ROI)
• Ivan Herrera – Over/Under 0.5 Singles (-155/+120)
  Ivan Herrera has hit the Singles Over in 15 of his last 20 away games (+7.80 Units / 28% ROI)