Cards to salvage series finale in L.A.?
Dodgers lefty Scott Kazmir nearly went the distance in last night’s 5-3 victory over the Cardinals. Don’t put it past Alex Wood to accomplish the same this evening.
Los Angeles (20-17) can sweep St. Louis with a win in the final contest of the day. Oddsmakers at online sports book Bovada.lv lean toward the host squad as a 1.5-run favorite. Mike Matheny’s outfit enters as a +125 underdog, and the over/under total sits at 7.5 runs.
Jeremy Hazelbaker’s two-run blast in the top of the ninth knocked Kazmir out of the proceedings roughly 16 hours ago, but not before the southpaw came within an out of a complete game. Wood (1-3, 4.58 ERA) hopes to replicate such a performance shortly, and recent results suggest a high likelihood of that happening. The 25-year-old righty has allowed just one run and struck out nine in two of his past three outings. He’s never faced the Redbirds, though.
St. Louis counters with Mike Leake (1-3, 5.10), who went 1-1 with a 1.13 ERA against the Dodgers last season. Most recently, the veteran permitted a single run across eight frames of an 8-1 triumph in Anaheim. Nonetheless, he surrendered at least three earned runs in his first six outings.
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The Cards now run the risk of undoing all they achieved vs. the Angels. We expect the visitors to still secure an above-.500 trip through Southern California, however. Watch out for right fielder Randal Grichuk, who’s batted at a .321 clip in eight contests after limping to a .182 mark in his first 27 tilts.
SUNDAY MLB FREE PICK: CARDINALS +1.5
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