Rejuvenated Redbirds combat Rockies at Coors
Many of the Cardinals’ old stalwarts have begun to offer diminishing returns. If the Alex Reyeses of the organization can keep producing gems like we witnessed yesterday, though, perhaps a youth movement should unfold immediately.
The 22-year-old rookie was outstanding in the Redbirds’ 3-0 victory over San Francisco, tossing seven scoreless innings to help the visitors earn a critical series split. St. Louis now sits one game behind the Giants for the second wild-card spot in the National League. Both teams continue to chase the Mets (80-69).
Mike Matheny hopes that he can get an equally powerful performance out of Carlos Martinez in tonight’s contest vs. Colorado. Online sports book Bovada.lv gives the Cards of -112 to prevail at Coors Field, whereas Walt Weiss’ group represents a +102 underdog. The over/under run figure holds steady at 11.
Despite his abundant success against the bulk of NL opponents, Martinez hasn’t had particularly good fortune vs. the Rockies. He’s 1-0 with an 8.04 ERA in six career meetings with the franchise. Only two of those outings actually came in Denver.
Weiss answers with Tyler Anderson, who’s in the midst of a very solid rookie campaign. The righty holds a 5-5 record with a 3.65 ERA in 17 starts. More impressively, he’s 5-1 with a 3.04 ERA at home.
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Colorado’s on pace to produce its most wins since 2010. St. Louis, however, finds itself immersed in an absolute dogfight for would-be playoff survival. Look for Martinez to hunker down like the emerging ace he is and lead the club to a W.
MONDAY MLB FREE PICK: CARDINALS -1.5