Marlins can’t slow down scorching Cardinals
Jaime Garcia’s on pace to make his most starts in a single campaign since 2011. Still, that doesn’t mean the 30-year-old is enamored with his 2016 body of work so far.
St. Louis’ lone southpaw in the rotation shoots to jump above the .500 mark in tonight’s clash against Miami, with a 7:05 p.m. ET first pitch at Marlins Park. Handicappers at online sports book BetDSI are confident that will happen, too, listing the Cardinals as 1.5-run favorites. Don Mattingly’s club checks in as a +105 underdog, while the over/under run figure holds at 8.5.
Assorted injuries haunted Garcia (7-7, 3.97 ERA) for the majority of his first decade or so in the bigs. When the Mexico native took the hill last season, however, few National League hurlers fared better. In 20 assignments, Garcia went 10-6 with a 2.43 ERA. His WHIP was a sparkling 1.05, the product of a mere 30 walks.
This summer, the lefty’s issuing entirely too many free passes. Eleven of them in July alone have limited his ability to venture deep into games, putting further stress on Mike Matheny’s bullpen. Garcia also got knocked around by Miami only two weeks ago, yielding four runs on eight base knocks.
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Colin Rea (5-5, 4.98) recently ran into the Cards as well – albeit as a member of the Padres. San Diego just shipped the righty to the East Coast in exchange for a four-player package. You undoubtedly recall that infamous outing at Busch Stadium, though, in which he almost rearranged Matt Holliday’s face with an inside heater.
Nonetheless, the left fielder missed nary a contest – and he’s ready to enact some quasi-revenge in several hours. As a team, the Cardinals continue to crush the ball. Look for the hit parade to persist as the action rolls along in South Florida.
SATURDAY MLB FREE PICK: CARDINALS/MARLINS OVER 8.5 RUNS