Cards task Garcia with saving series in Seattle
While the Cardinals still have interleague action with which to contend in the week ahead, at least they’re on the verge of completing a disastrous tour of the American League West.
Mike Matheny’s gang tries to avoid being swept by the Mariners today, with a 4:10 p.m. ET first pitch at Safeco Field. Oddsmakers at online sports book Bovada.lv are troubled by what they’ve seen from the Redbirds lately, listing them as +112 underdogs here. Seattle, conversely, symbolizes a 1.5-run favorite.
The M’s dealt St. Louis its seventh consecutive loss to a team from the aforementioned division last night, 4-3. Mike Leake couldn’t venture beyond the fourth inning, but thanks to Tyler Lyons’ elongated relief appearance, Matheny’s staff shouldn’t be in terrible shape this afternoon. Giving the ball to Jaime Garcia from the outset promises to help, too. The lefty’s gone at least 6 1/3 frames in each of his past two starts.
On the other side, Scott Servais turns to the hard-throwing James Paxton. Despite a multitude of injuries to key hurlers, the Mariners can usually rely on a lengthy outing by Paxton. In his most recent assignment, he worked into the eighth vs. Detroit, inducing 17 grounders in the process.
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If need be, however, Servais has the luxury of accessing his bullpen earlier than usual. (Seattle is idle tomorrow before commencing a series against Pittsburgh.) Considering the Cards’ success vs. lefties blessed with velocity, we’re guessing the skipper will have to make a switch or two on the mound. Count on the visitors to salvage the matinee in question.
SUNDAY MLB FREE PICK: CARDINALS +1.5
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