The St. Louis Cardinals was clutch once again when they tied the National League Championship Series with the San Francisco Giants at 1-1 via a walk-off homer by Kolton Wong. Will the Cards magic work again in Game 3? Or will Tim Hudson and the San Francisco bullpen shut the Cards’ offense down this time around?
Meanwhile, Week 7 of the NFL kicks off this Thursday with a matchup between the New York Jets and the New England Patriots. You can read a complete preview of that game here.
[sc:MLBArticles ]Series Schedule & Results
Game 1 – San Francisco Giants 3 at St. Louis Cardinals 0
Game 2 – San Francisco Giants 4 at St. Louis Cardinals 5
Game 3 – Tuesday, October 14, St. Louis Cardinals at San Francisco Giants — view all MLB lines
Game 4 – Wednesday, October 15, St. Louis Cardinals at San Francisco Giants
Game 5– Thursday, October 16, St. Louis Cardinals at San Francisco Giants
Game 6* — Saturday, October 18, San Francisco Giants at St. Louis Cardinals
Game 7* — Sunday, October 19, San Francisco Giants at St. Louis Cardinals
* – if necessary
Betting on the St. Louis Cardinals
[sc:MLB240banner ]There has to be something in this postseason as the Cardinals are having a sudden surge in power this October. The Cards were second to last in home run production at the end of the regular season with 105, but they tower over every other team that made the postseason with 11 homers. In their latest showcase of power at the plate, the Cardinals pumped in four homers in Game 2 of the NLCS as Matt Carpenter, Oscar Taveras, Matt Adams and Kolton Wong each went yard to help propel their team to a series-tying 5-4 victory.
St. Louis looks to bring that kind of power in Game 3, but they’ll have to do it in the least power-hitter-friendly park in the majors. According to ESPN’s MLB Park Factors stat, AT&T Park is ranked lowest with a 0.677 HR. St. Louis, however, doesn’t have to rely too much on its muscle, as they can efficiently generate runs by hitting for contact instead of for power.
Carpenter, had a .318 BABIP during the regular season, which says a lot about his ability to put the ball in play. For all the power emanating from Adams’ bat, the hulking first baseman still managed to come up with a .318 BABIP. Jon Jay, meanwhile, is the best in this department among Cards players with at least 400 plate appearances, finishing the regular season with a team-high .363 BABIP. Jay is also currently hitting 8-for-17 this October for a team-best .471 batting average.
The Cards can look at these players to provide activity at the plate, especially now that Yadier Molina is now doubtful for the rest of the postseason after suffering an oblique injury.
On the mound for the Cards is John Lackey (14-10, 3.82 ERA), who’ll ply his trade again after a dominant performance in Game 3 of the LDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers on October 6. In that game, Lackey allowed just one earned run on five hits over seven innings of duty in the Cards’ 2-1 win. Lackey has pitched for 111.0 career postseason innings with a 2.92 ERA and 1.27 WHIP.
St. Louis has won in six of Lackey’s last nine starts. The Cards are also 4-1 in their last five games at San Francisco.
Betting on the San Francisco Giants
Despite a 1.65 ERA in this postseason, the Giants have a problem in their pitching, one that can be found in their bullpen. San Francisco found it the hard way again last night when three different relievers gave up three crucial homers to the Cardinals. First, Jean Machi allowed the Cards to tie the game when Adams homered off him in the seventh inning. Then Hunter Strickland followed that up with another homer surrendered, this time against Taveras in the same inning. The last one was the most damning, when Kolton Wong hit a walk-off homer off Sergio Romo.
The three relievers have combined for an eyesore ERA of 6.30, with all of their earned runs coming off homers. That said, Tim Hudson (9-13, 3.57 ERA) must keep the Cards off the scoreboard before giving the ball to the now questionable Giants’ bullpen. The 39-year-old pitcher showed there’s a lot of gas left in his tank when he allowed just one run, while fanning eight batters in seven-plus innings of work in the Giants’ 2-1 win over the Washington Nationals in Game 2 of the LCS on October 4.
Going back to the bullpen, Bruce Bochy could use lights-out reliever Yusmeiro Petit (3.69 ERA, 1.02 WHIP), who hasn’t pitched since Game 2 of the LCS, where he pitched six scoreless innings of relief, while striking out seven Nats hitters. Tonight could also see an appearance of converted reliever Tim Lincecum (12-9, 4.74 ERA), who has yet to take the mound in this postseason.
On offense, Brandon Belt, Buster Posey, and Pablo Sandoval have been the three most consistent batters thus far in this postseason. Belt is hitting .360 (9-for-25), while Posey Sandoval each share an identical 10-for-32 hitting line for .313 BA. Posey, though, saw his hitting streak end at eight games when he went 0-for-4 last night.
The Giants are 3-1 in their last four home games.
Writer’s Prediction
John Lackey’s flashes his vintage postseason form, as he leads the Cards to a 4-2 win. Create a betting account now while odds are still available.
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