The St. Louis Cardinals (2-0) have displayed no sign of suffering a World Series hangover in winning their first two games, as they take on the Milwaukee Brewers (0-1) inside Miller Park on Saturday afternoon on FOX
St. Louis Cardinals at Milwaukee Brewers
St. Louis has won its first two games in two different cities to open up the 2012 MLB season, which includes an 11-5 road victory over the Milwaukee Brewers as plus-117 underdogs. The Cardinals offense has managed to score 35 combined runs in their last three visits to Miller Park, which includes a playoff series last year. Beginning with last night’s victory, the club will be playing 27 consecutive games against National League Central opponents. St. Louis is 22-14 as a road underdog of plus-100 to plus-125 the last two-plus seasons.
Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright will be toeing a Major League mound for the first time since Sept. 24, 2010, as he missed all of last season due to having Tommy John surgery. It didn’t stop the franchise from winning it all, but it’s glad to have a pitcher of his caliber back in the rotation, finishing second in the 2010 NL Cy Young Award voting. The right-hander is 7-4 with a 2.06 ERA in 21 games (14 starts) versus the Brewers, including a 4-2 mark and 2.50 ERA in 11 games (seven starts) inside Miller Park.
Milwaukee opened the game with a two-run lead after the first inning, but was outscored by an 11-3 margin over the final eight fames to drop its home opener. “It’s hard when you work so hard to get to this point,” stated Brewers second-year manager Ron Roenicke. “This was a bad game.” The Brewers were hoping to provide a victory for the second-largest crowd ever to watch a ball game inside their home park, but it wasn’t meant to be. Milwaukee is 8-5 at home when the total is 7 or less the last two-plus seasons.
Brewers starting pitcher Zack Greinke enjoyed a solid season for the most part in his first year pitching in the National League, finishing with a 16-6 record and 3.83 ERA in 28 starts. The right-hander has been absolutely dominant when pitching inside Miller Park during his career, coming in with a perfect 11-0 record and 3.06 ERA in 16 games (15 starts). Greinke will be making his 10th career appearance (eighth start) versus the Cardinals, posting a 5-3 record and 3.75 ERA in that span.
Bettors will likely back the Brewers due to their 17-0 record in Greinke’s last 17 starts as a home favorite, while the Cardinals are 23-31 when playing on Saturday the last two years.
Make sure to check out our Major League Baseball picks all season long and get the most up-to-date betting odds at Bookmaker
