MLB Betting – Cards look to overcome rocky stretch against Colorado
Colorado Rockies (+206) at St. Louis Cardinals (-223, 7 o/u)
The St. Louis Cardinals (64-37, 37-15 Home), owners of the best record in baseball, have made Busch Stadium their stomping ground this year; but a rough stretch has seen them lose three of the last four at home. However with Carlos Martinez (11-4, 2.34 ERA) on the mound, and the lowly Colorado Rockies (43-56, 19-29 Away) coming to town for four, the Cardinals are in a good position to get back on track, starting tonight (7:15 PM Eastern).
The Cardinals record at home so far is the franchise’s best since 1943, but they recorded only two runs per game in the last two losses against the Chicago Cubs.
“This is a team that will produce, can produce at times,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “It just didn’t come as easy and we got to figure out a way to get it done and just haven’t been able to get it done the last couple of nights.”
The Cards are hoping the latest addition of hard swinging outfielder Brandon Moss can help them produce more. Moss was acquired today after Matt Holliday re-injured his quad last night. Moss has 15 home runs and 50 RBIs on the year, but his “cut at everything approach” has left him with a .217 average and 106 strikeouts.
On the mound, Martinez is 4-1 on his last six starts, and he’s coming off perhaps his best game of year, going for 8.0 innings, allowing six hits without a run in the 1-0 victory the Cardinals had over the Atlanta Braves. He should have an easier time against a Colorado lineup that traded star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki away earlier this week.
The Rockies will have Chris Rusin (3-4, 4.13 ERA) throwing this game: the bad news for the team is he hasn’t won a game since June 21, losing two of his last six starts with four no-decisions. Rusin went 5.0 innings in the 5-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds, allowing ten hits and five runs.
The Cardinals have won 23 of the last 33 meetings between these two ball clubs and have the pitching matchup to win another.
Pick: Cardinals (-223).
(Photo credit: Keith Allison (flickr) [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/legalcode]. Photo may appear cropped.)
Zack is a tour guide whose favorite sports are football, baseball, and golf. He enjoys giving obnoxious commentary during games and hopes to some day write a book about sports. His favorite underdog victory was the Diamondbacks beating the Yankees in game 7 of the World Series.
