Brace yourself for another wild Monday night with two blockbuster games guaranteed to satisfy your baseball cravings. Our first game features the Houston Astros (64-54), who continue to hold the lead in the American League West, playing host to the Tampa Bay Rays (58-59) for the first meeting of a critical four-game set. Following shortly, is a much-anticipated National League showdown between the San Francisco Giants (64-53) and St. Louis Cardinals (75-42).
Read on below to get a brief breakdown of these two intriguing matchups. You can also click here for a comprehensive breakdown of the Diamondbacks vs. Pirates game.
[sc:MLBArticles ]Tampa Bay Rays vs. Houston Astros (8:10 PM ET)
Line: Tampa Bay Rays (+145) vs. Houston Astros (-160); total: 7.5 – view all MLB lines
[sc:MLB240banner ]Erasmo Ramirez (9-4, 3.59 ERA) finally broke off his three-game slump with a strong performance on Tuesday. He kept the Brave scoreless for seven innings to pick up the 2-0 triumph. Ramirez will be looking to sustain this momentum when he toes the rubber against the Astros for the second time in his career. During his first and only outing versus Houston on July 10, the 25-year-old was pretty solid by logging in six innings of one-run ball for the eventual 3-1 victory.
For the Astros, it will be Scott Kazmir (6-7, 2.12 ERA) going on the mound. Kazmir was impressive during his first two starts with his new team by delivering 14 2/3 scoreless innings. But it’s been downhill for him after that as the former A’s pitcher has allowed seven runs (three earned) and 13 hits over the past two games. Houston lost both of those games. Across 11 road starts this season, Kazmir is 2-5 with a decent 3.19 ERA.
Tampa Bay is 6-4 in Ramirez’s previous 10 turns. The Astros, meanwhile, is 2-2 overall with Kazmir starting.
Writer’s Prediction
Astros (-160) win, 6-4.
San Francisco Giants vs. St. Louis Cardinals (8:15 PM ET)
Line: San Francisco Giants (+135) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (-150); total: 7.0– view all MLB lines
Chris Heston (11-7, 3.38 ERA) took the loss during his last outing against the Astros on Wednesday, but the Giants’ offense was the main reason for it. He received zero run support from his teammates despite yielding just one run in 6 1/3 frames. Heston, who’ll be making his first career start versus the Cards tonight, carries a 6-2 record and a 4.45 ERA in 11 road starts this year. San Francisco is 3-2 in his previous five turns.
As for the Cards, they’ll be opposing with Michael Wacha, who boasts a 14-4 record with a 2.93 ERA. He has been incredible lately, as he’s managed to surrender just two runs in the past three outings to garner three consecutive wins. Wacha holds a 6-2 record with a 2.56 ERA, a 1.11 WHIP and a .219 opponents’ batting average at Busch Stadium this season.
The Giants are 3-2 in Heston’s previous five road starts. The Cards, on the other hand, have won seven of their last 10 with Wacha starting.
Writer’s Prediction
The Giants (+135) steal one at Busch Stadium with a thrilling 9-8 victory.
Create a betting account now, and don’t miss out on all the action with these two big games.
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