The Cardinals might be the best bet on the entire board with America celebrating its Independence Day.
Milwaukee Brewers at St. Louis Cardinals
Milwaukee put its second-ranked offense on display on Saturday, racking up 19 hits and 12 runs in a blowout win over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. The run total was the most the Brewers’ offense has tallied since June 14. “Days like this are few and far between for a pitcher of his caliber,” said All-Star outfielder Ryan Braun about putting up such a total against Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter. The Brewers added two home runs to its NL-leading total of 101, which is third in the majors behind Toronto and Boston. The Brewers are now 20-22 on the road (+200) and have gone 4-8-1 in series play away from Miller Park. Milwaukee’s offense has been sparked from the top this season, with Rickie Weeks ranking tops in the majors in home runs (14) and RBI (49) for a leadoff batter.
Brewers starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo is 8-3 with a 2.56 ERA in 17 starts this season (-120) and brings a two-game winning streak to the table. The right-hander is a perfect 4-0 with a 2.25 ERA in eight road starts (-60), managing to strikeout 59 batters in just 48 innings away from Miller Park. He’s winless in five career starts against the Cardinals, posting an 0-3 mark and 6.59 ERA, which includes a 7-1 home defeat in his second start of the season. Gallardo allowed six runs and five hits over five innings of work in that contest. He has made just six daytime starts, going 1-3 with a 4.38 ERA, allowing opposing batters to hit .230 against him.
St. Louis remains 1.5 games behind the Cincinnati Reds in the National League Central race, with the only bright spot in Saturday’s loss being first baseman Albert Pujols 20th home run of the season. The Cardinals still lead the season series 5-4, with the team holding a 110-85 all-time mark against Milwaukee. Despite the poor defensive and pitching performance in yesterday’s game, St. Louis leads Major League baseball in home ERA. Despite the club’s 18-15 divisional record this season, bettors have failed to produce a profit (-680). This has remained a common practice with the Cardinals being 100-90 the last three years against the NL Central (-1,360).
Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright is 11-5 with a 2.34 ERA in 17 starts this season (+320), with the team alternating wins and losses over his last three outings. The talented right-hander is a dominating 8-0 with a 1.49 ERA in eight home starts (+800), allowing just 40 hits in 60.1 innings. Opposing batters are managing to hit just .192 against him at Busch Stadium, with the Cardinals outscoring opponents 53-15 in the process. Wainwright is also perfect during the day, going 5-0 with a 2.12 ERA in five starts. He has finished with a sub-2.50 ERA in each month thus far.
It’s very hard to imagine the Cardinals not picking up a victory in this contest and improve upon its 26-15 record at home (+30). Wainwright’s perfect home mark gains even more strength with the Brewers being 11-19 during day games (-1,010).
