The St. Louis Cardinals dropped the first game of their four-game set against the San Diego Padres, 5-3, on Friday night. But they may be able to draw this series even with pitching wunderkind Michael Wacha on the mound tonight. Wacha has easily been the ace of this Cardinals team minus the injured Adam Wainwright. Can he deal with San Diego’s suddenly hot bats tonight? Read on for a complete preview of this primetime matchup.
Are you in the mood to see bombers at the plate? Check out the complete preview for the Astros vs. Red Sox.
[sc:MLBArticles ]San Diego Padres vs. St. Louis Cardinals Preview
Where: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, MO
When: Friday, July 3, 8:15 PM ET
Line: San Diego Padres (+155) at St. Louis Cardinals (-175); total 7.0 – view all MLB lines
Betting on the San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres had struggled at the plate as of late, being shut out in back-to-back home starts against the struggling Seattle Mariners. But they seem to have found their stroke in the series opener against St. Louis, erupting for five runs on eight hits. Will Venable, who had gone 2 for 16 in his last six contests, hit the winning go-ahead two-run homer in the 11th inning to take the series opener Thursday night.
[sc:MLB240banner ]Part of the Padres’ struggles on the plate has been Justin Upton’s form. The San Diego outfielder leads the team in batting average (.263), home runs (14) and RBI (46), but he’s been hitless in four straight games (0 for 14).
Things don’t figure to get better for Upton on the road. He’s hit just .225 away from home, compared to .306 in San Diego. Upton has just one plate appearance against Wacha in his career, where he just reached base on a walk.
The Padres hand over the ball to starter Andrew Cashner (3-9, 4.22) tonight. The right-hander went 0-2 with a 7.62 ERA in his first five starts in June before allowing just two earned runs and struck out six in a 7-2 win against Arizona on Saturday.
This game will be Cashner’s first start against the Cardinals in his career. The Padres starter has struggled on the road this season going 2-4 with a 4.39 ERA in nine starts. He’s allowed nine home runs on the road compared to just four at home.
The Padres have lost six of Cashner’s nine road starts this season.
Betting on the St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are struggling to get it going. They’ve dropped a season-high three straight at home as they were outscored 14-5, going 1 for 29 with runners in scoring position. But the Cardinals are in good position to snap their losing streak with Michael Wacha (10-3, 2.77 ERA) on the mound tonight.
Wacha is gunning to tie Pittsburgh’s Gerrit Cole with a majors-high 11 wins. He’s struggled as of late, going 3-3 with a 4.17 ERA in his last six starts. But Wacha should be able to right the ship tonight; he’s 3-0 with a 1.94 ERA in nine career starts when pitching on six days of rest. This will be Wacha’s first appearance against the Padres.
The Cards could give their starter the run support needed to avoid a season-high four straight losses this season. Jason Heyward is 8 for 20 in his last five games. Meanwhile, Matt Carpenter is batting .393 with 14 RBIs in 18 career games against the Padres. Carpenter went 2 for 4 with an RBI, two runs scored and walked twice in yesterday’s 5-3 loss.
The Cardinals have won seven of their last 10 home games against the Padres.
Writer’s Prediction
Wacha pitches a gem to lead the Cardinals (-175) to a win. Create a betting account now and give yourself a daily fix of baseball action.
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