St. Louis Cardinals (56-60) +130, o/u 9 ½ at Milwaukee Brewers (62-57), 8:05 Eastern Wednesday
by Predictem.com Staff
The St. Louis Cardinals look to crawl a little closer toward another playoff berth when they take on the Milwaukee Brewers in the middle game of a three-game set Wednesday night at Miller Park.
St. Louis won the series opener Tuesday night 12-4, banging out 19 hits in the process. The Cardinals have now won five of their last six games but are only 16-15 since the All-Star break. Still, thanks to the struggles of Milwaukee and the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis is now right in the race in the NL Central, as they sit just 4 ½ games back of the division-leading Brewers and three games back of the second-place Cubs.
The Cards also lurk seven games behind the San Diego Padres in the NL wild-card race.
Milwaukee, trying to hang on to that division lead after that great start to this season, is just 4-8 this month and 13-18 since the All-Star break.
These two teams have split 10 games so far this season, with the o/u going 6-4.
St. Louis is 26-33 on the road this season, and 23-27 as underdogs. The Brewers are an NL-best 39-21 at home this year, and 51-37 as favorites.
Joel Pineiro (1-1, 3.00) is scheduled to make his third start for the Cardinals Wednesday since coming over in a trade with Boston last month, while rookie Yovani Gallardo (4-2, 4.20) will go for Milwaukee. In his most recent start, Pineiro shut out San Diego over seven innings in a 5-0 St. Louis win last Friday. The Cards are 1-1 in his starts so far, the o/u also 1-1.
Pineiro has never started a game vs. the Brewers.
Gallardo had been pitching fairly well for Milwaukee, but took a beating his last time out, allowing 11 runs and 12 hits in 2 2/3 innings in a 19-4 Brewers loss in Colorado last Thursday. He obviously shouldn't have been in there that long, but Milwaukee was short-handed in the bullpen, so he took one for the team. The Brewers are 4-4 in Gallardo's starts this year, the o/u 5-3.
Gallardo has started once in his short ML career vs. St. Louis, giving up four ER and six baserunners (hits + walks) in five IP in a 9-5 Milwaukee loss 18 days ago.
The Cardinals rank ninth in the majors with their .338 team OBP this season, and are averaging 4.5 runs per game. But St. Louis has racked up 30 runs over just their last three games.
And, ominously, the Brewers have given up 75 runs in their last nine games.
Milwaukee ranks just 19th in the league with its .329 team OBP this season, and is averaging 4.8 RPG.
The Cardinals bullpen has blown just six save opportunities this season, which is tied with Boston's pen for the least BS in the league, and owns a cumulative 3.91 ERA, which ranks 13th.
The Brewers pen has blown 15 saves this year and owns a 4.16 ERA, which ranks 21st.
The o/u is 54-54 in St. Louis games this season, 63-51 in Milwaukee games, and 33-25 in games played at Miller Park.
Most online sportsbooks have the Brewers favored at -142 to -149.
The Predictem.com Pick: Take the Cardinals here as they are a live barking dog!
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