Cards’ Wainwright to regain stride vs. Padres?
Adam Wainwright has been here before. Still, that doesn’t exactly calm St. Louis fans’ fears about their scuffling ace.
The three-time All-Star will try to snap out of his early-season funk tonight. San Diego hosts the Cardinals in the opener of a three-game series, with a 10:40 p.m. ET first pitch at Petco Park. Online sports book BetDSI gravitates toward the visitors, listing them as 1.5-run favorites.
Wainwright must demonstrate significant improvement if Mike Matheny’s club wants to kick off its week-long West Coast trip on a positive note. The veteran righty (0-2, 8.27 ERA) has yielded 11 extra-base hits over 16 1/3 innings while walking nine. In 2012, Wainwright managed to overcome a similar rough spell that produced an 0-3 start and 9.88.
He probably couldn’t pick a better opponent against which to right the ship. Wainwright’s 6-2 in eight turns vs. the Padres, last facing them in 2014. San Diego’s primary offensive threat, Matt Kemp, holds just a .130 average in 23 career encounters with the Georgia native. Among the Padres’ regulars, only Melvin Upton Jr. (4 for 9) can boast about a modicum of success in the batter-pitcher matchup.
MLB Quick Links: Free Matchup Reports | Injuries | Odds Comparison | Scoreboard | Betting Trends
This evening also marks the first meeting between the two organizations since the Cards dealt longtime outfielder Jon Jay out West for infielder Jedd Gyorko in December. Jay may be tempted to sneak back into the St. Louis dugout in a short while, because Andrew Cashner (0-1, 5.40)’s bound to struggle with an outfit that ranks second in the bigs in runs (78), total bases (203) and OPS (.852). Chalk up a big one for Wainwright.
FRIDAY MLB FREE PICK: CARDINALS -1.5
Want More From TheSpread.com? Follow on Twitter and Facebook or Subscribe to Our News Feeds!