St. Louis Cardinals vs. Milwaukee Brewers – July 11, 2014 – Betting Preview and Prediction

The struggling Milwaukee Brewers haven’t been scoring – or winning – much lately. They’ll need to find a fix to their offensive woes if they plan to get into the All-Star break with their lead in the NL Central intact. The team that can replace them at the top of the division, the St. Louis Cardinals, could reduce their deficit over the Brewers down to just one game with a win tonight.

There are lots of interesting ball games to watch out for tonight, this one included. Read more about four other great ball games to bet on here, or check out of more in-depth look at another battle at the top of a division, the Detroit Tigers vs. the Kansas City Royals, here, then read on for everything you need to know about this key game in the NL Central.
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St. Louis Cardinals vs. Milwaukee Brewers Betting Preview

Where: Miller Park, Milwaukee

When: Friday, July 11, 8:10 PM ET

Line: St. Louis Cardinals (+115) at Milwaukee Brewers (-125); total: 7.5 – view all MLB lines

Betting on the St. Louis Cardinals

On the strength of a 6-3 record in their last nine games and helped by the Milwaukee Brewers’ bad slump, the Cards are now just two games back of the division’s No. 1 spot.

[sc:MLB240banner ]Manager Mike Matheny will send the now-healthy Joe Kelly (1-1, 0.59) to the mound for the first game of the series. Kelly will be making his first appearance on the mound since suffering a hamstring injury back in May. In Kelly’s last start, he pitched for four innings and surrendered three hits without allowing an earned run in St. Louis’ 5-1 loss to the same team he’ll be pitching against tonight.

While Kelly tries to shake off the rust from a long layoff, the Cardinals’ batters could make the right-handed pitcher feel more comfortable by spotting him some early runs.

Matt Adams is the best candidate to provide the spark from the plate for the Cards, as the hulking first baseman has hit 13-for-25 in the last seven games for a batting average of .520. Adams also has a .760 slugging percentage during that period. His .560 SLG is the best thus far in the majors.

The Cardinals are 7-3 in their last 10 games at Miller Park.

Betting on the Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers started the season like a house on fire, but they’re ending the first half of the season by going extremely cold. The Brewers have lost five straight games and nine of their last 10, and are in desperate need for a morale-boosting win. To get one, they’ll have to do better on offense.

Milwaukee finished last month with 152 runs, the most in the majors in June, while their .269 batting average was third best in the NL. Then came July, which prompted a sharp decline in the Brewers’ offensive numbers. The Brewers are hitting .195 as a team this month and have produced just 21 runs in total – both figures are the worst for any team this month.

Perhaps facing Cards’ Kelly will bring back the spunk of the Brewers’ offense. Scooter Gennett is 4-for-9 (.444) in his career against Kelly, while Carlos Gomez is 6-for-17 (.389). Ryan Braun, on the other hand, has gone 1-for-4 in the Brewers’ 9-1 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies after missing two games due to a sore back.

The Brewers are 3-1 in their last four games against St. Louis.

Writer’s Prediction

Milwaukee fends off the Cardinals with a slim 4-3 win tonight. Take the Brewers as -125 home faves.

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