Cards return home to battle Brew Crew
Having seen its epic power run come to a close on Wednesday, St. Louis is eager to take out some frustration on a familiar punching bag tonight.
Mike Matheny’s club takes on Milwaukee in the opener of a four-game series at Busch Stadium. According to oddsmakers at online sports book BetDSI, the Cardinals are 1.5-run favorites. Conversely, the Brewers enter the Gateway City as +141 underdogs. The over/under run total sits at 7.5.
A rare misfire by sensational rookie Alex Reyes cost the Redbirds dearly about nine hours ago. The reliever served up a solo blast to Pittsburgh’s Jung Ho Kang, which proved to be the decisive blow in the Pirates’ 4-3 triumph. St. Louis even failed to club a homer for the first time in 26 games.
This evening, Junior Guerra (7-3, 2.85 ERA) would do well to duck for cover. The righty just returned from a DL stint over the weekend, tossing 3 1/3 scoreless frames vs. the Pirates. On July 10, he suffered a 5-1 loss to the Cards.
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As for the hosts, Jaime Garcia (10-11, 4.11) strides to the hill in search of his 12th career win against the Brew Crew. He boasts 105 punchouts in 20 total meetings with the franchise. Most recently, however, Garcia absorbed a 9-1 L at Cincinnati.
The Cardinals lead the season series 11-4, and they’re a stunning 59-28 vs. Milwaukee since the beginning of the 2012 campaign. Guerra’s endurance simply isn’t where it needs to be yet in order to let the fourth-place crew compete with a perennial powerhouse in the National League Central. Look for Matheny’s troops to finally muster a rousing performance for the celebrated fans in the Midwest.
THURSDAY MLB FREE PICK: CARDINALS -1.5