Wacha leads Cards into battle with Brewers
Having steadied matters after a precarious start, the Cardinals now turn their attention to one of the Midwest’s most reverted traditions: the home opener at Busch Stadium.
Following the usual parade of Clydesdales and Hall of Famers, St. Louis will take on NL Central rival Milwaukee at 4:15 p.m. ET. Oddsmakers at online sports book Bovada.lv like Mike Matheny’s club as a 1.5-run favorite, with an over/under figure of 7.5 runs.
The Redbirds come off an authoritative sweep of the Braves. In yesterday series finale at Turner Field, Matt Carpenter and Brandon Moss clubbed three-run homers for the visitors. St. Louis’ bullpen made up for a second straight iffy outing by ace Adam Wainwright, too, tossing four largely pristine innings to conclude the 12-7 win.
Such pitching prowess must continue against the Brewers, who just took two of three from Houston. Craig Counsell’s team displayed its own relief proficiency roughly 24 hours ago, using perfect frames by Tyler Thornburg, Michael Blazek and new closer Jeremy Jeffress to hand Dallas Keuchel’s Astros a 3-2 defeat. As for this afternoon’s starter, Taylor Jungmann, he acquitted himself well vs. San Francisco last week, giving up only one earned run in a 4-3 Milwaukee triumph.
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The Cards respond with righty Michael Wacha, he of the 17 victories in 2015. Wacha’s encounters with the Brew Crew, however, haven’t exactly produced stellar results. (The 24-year-old owns a 5.87 ERA in four outings.) Wainwright’s pupil also aspires to move beyond a shaky initial turn in Pittsburgh, in which he permitted 10 hits.
Of course, nearly every Cardinal stumbled through the proceedings at PNC Park before catching fire in Georgia. Milwaukee’s faring pretty well at the moment, but the first foe to pass through Busch each spring generally knows that disappointment awaits.
MONDAY MLB FREE PICK: CARDINALS -1.5
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