MLB Betting News and Notes Thursday, October 24

Cardinals at Red Sox: What Bettors Need to Know
By Covers.com

St. Louis Cardinals at Boston Red Sox (-125, 7)

Boston leads series 1-0.

The St. Louis Cardinals displayed some nerves in the field during the first game of the World Series and were bitten by errors in a loss. The Cardinals will look to clean up those mistakes when they visit the Boston Red Sox for Game 2 on Thursday. The Red Sox are riding a nine-game World Series winning streak and showed no jitters while jumping on top early in Game 1.

Mike Napoli followed an error with a three-run double in the first inning Wednesday and Boston got the aid of another error in a two-run second to jump in front of St. Louis. One of the best plays the Cardinals did make in the early innings came from Carlos Beltran, who reached into the bullpen in right field to rob David Ortiz of a grand slam. Beltran suffered a right rib contusion on that catch and was forced to leave the game, though, leaving his status in doubt for Game 2.

WEATHER: Temperatures in the mid 40s with partly cloudy skies and winds blowing west at 9 mph.

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Michael Wacha (3-0, 0.43 ERA) vs. Red Sox RH John Lackey (2-0, 3.00)

Wacha was the NLCS MVP after tossing 13 2/3 scoreless innings over two starts against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 22-year-old rookie allowed a total of one run on eight hits over 21 innings this postseason while striking out 22 and issuing four walks. Wacha made both NLCS starts at home and posted a 4.34 ERA in five games - three starts - on the road during the regular season while going 3-2.

Lackey was moved up to the No. 2 spot for the World Series after dominating the Detroit Tigers through 6 2/3 scoreless innings in the ALCS. The veteran struck out eight and did not walk a batter in that turn, outdueling Justin Verlander in a 1-0 triumph. Lackey last pitched in the World Series as a rookie for the Los Angeles Angels in 2002, when he went 1-0 with a 4.38 ERA in three games - two starts.

TRENDS:

* Over is 6-2-1 in the last nine meetings in Boston.
* Cardinals are 2-7 in their last nine playoff road games.
* Red Sox are 9-0 in their last 9 World Series games.
* Red Sox are 6-1 in Lackey's last seven home starts.
* Cardinals are 4-0 in Wacha's last four starts.

UMP TRENDS - Mark Wegner:

* Under is 4-0-1 in Wegner's last five games behind home plate.
* Under is 25-12 in Wegner's last 37 interleague games behind home plate.
* Road team is 5-2 in Wegner's last 7 games behind home plate.

WALK-OFFS:

1. Beltran was taken for X-rays after leaving Game 1. Jon Jay replaced him in the field.

2. Ortiz hit a two-run homer Wednesday, giving him four in 11 playoff games this season.

3. St. Louis SS Pete Kozma went 0-for-3 and committed two errors in Game 1.

World Series Game 2

Rookie Wacha won his last four starts, allowing nine hits, one run in 29.2 IP; three of those four games stayed under the total.

Lackey is 3-1, 3.00 in his last four starts; he has a 3.82 ERA in last five starts at Fenway Park. He is 5-4, 3.10 in 14 career postseason starts.

Cardinals are 7-5 in playoffs, 2-4 on road. Under is 5-4 in their last nine games. Cardinals are 5-6 playing in AL ballparks this year- those games had the DH (over 7-4).

Red Sox won five of their last six games, are 8-3 in playoffs, scoring total of seven runs in the losses. Over is 11-3-2 in their last sixteen games.

Armadillosports.com

StatFox Super Situations

MLB ST LOUIS at BOSTON
Play On - Home teams when the money line is +125 to -125 (BOSTON) good offensive team - scoring >=5.2 runs/game on the season (AL), after scoring 8 runs or more 34-13 over the last 5 seasons. ( 72.3% 21.0 units ) 4-2 this year. ( 66.7% 1.8 units )

StatFox Situational Power Trends

MLB ST LOUIS at BOSTON
ST LOUIS is 27-13 (+14.8 Units) against the money line in Road games after a loss this season. The average score was: ST LOUIS (5.4) , OPPONENT (3.5)

World Series Game 2
By Sportsbook.ag

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS (104-70) at BOSTON RED SOX (105-68)

Sportsbook.ag Line: Boston -120 & 7 over -120

Coming off a dominating 8-1 victory on Wednesday night, the Red Sox will look to take a 2-0 lead in the World Series against the Cardinals in Thursday's Game 2.

The Boston bats came alive early and often against St. Louis ace Adam Wainwright, but he wasn’t helped by uncharacteristically poor defense. Only three of the five runs charged to him were earned, as the Cardinals finished the game with three errors. This was the same team that finished the regular season with the fourth-fewest errors in the majors. And when the defense made good plays, there were bad results like when RF Carlos Beltran robbed a home run, but injured his ribs in the process, making him questionable for Thursday’s action. Rookie sensation Michael Wacha (6-1, 2.16 ERA) takes the mound for St. Louis in this one, amid a torrid playoff stretch during which he is 3-0 with an 0.43 ERA and 0.57 WHIP. He’ll face veteran John Lackey (12-13, 3.49 ERA), who doesn’t have Wacha’s stuff, but has some savvy as he showed in his last start, when he shut out the Tigers over 6.2 innings en route to a 1-0 Red Sox victory. And Boston always enjoys playing at home where it now has a 58-29 record (.667) this season, as compared to the Cardinals who are just barely above .500 on the road at 45-4

Wacha (0.97 WHIP) has been incredible since he was called up and only continues to get better with this stretch during the playoffs, during which he has averaged 7.0 innings per start. He has given up only one run the entire postseason while striking out 22 batters and only walking four in his 21 innings. He hasn’t been quite as good on the road this year, but still has fantastic numbers away from home, going 2-0 with a 2.62 ERA and 1.17 WHIP in four starts. Though he has never faced the Red Sox in his short career, the key for him will be getting through the core of the Boston lineup in 3-4-5 hitters Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz and Mike Napoli who combined to go 5-for-11 with 7 RBI and four runs in Game 1. It would be helpful for the Cardinals if Wacha can last deep into this game, with five relievers pitching for St. Louis on Wednesday. But the unit has a respectable 3.36 ERA and 1.21 WHIP this season, including a 2.18 ERA and 0.82 WHIP in the playoffs, and should be dependable if called upon by manager Mike Matheny.

Lackey (1.16 WHIP) is always happy to pitch at Fenway Park where he has a 2.71 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in 2013, garnering a 7-3 record (team 10-4). At home he has 83 strikeouts and 18 walks over 96.1 innings, and all season he has fanned 175 batters and walked 43 in 201.1 frames. His penchant to give up long balls is also improved at home, giving up only eight at Fenway versus 18 on the road. Lackey has also historically been a quality postseason pitcher, with a 5-4 record, 3.10 ERA and 1.31 WHIP in 16 career outings, 14 of which were starts. This includes a 2.58 ERA and 1.21 WHIP in seven starts since 2008. He has never faced St. Louis in his career, though the two current Cardinals who he has been exposed to—OFs Carlos Beltran and Matt Holliday—are a combined 0-for-16 with four strikeouts against him in their careers. Especially given that starter Jon Lester went 7.2 innings on Wednesday, Boston manager John Farrell should have no qualms looking to his relievers early in Game 2. Red Sox relievers have a 3.54 ERA and 1.30 WHIP in 2013, and have been even better during the postseason, going 3-1 with a 1.08 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and five saves.

Check out more World Series Odds and Props at Sportsbook.ag!