The Cardinals have the best home pitcher in baseball going for them in the finale of this short two-game set at Busch Stadium.
Milwaukee Brewers at St. Louis Cardinals
Milwaukee picked up a 3-2 road victory in the first of a two-game set against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Third baseman Casey McGehee was the different in last night’s contest, hitting a two-run homer off Cardinals starter Jaime Garcia. McGehee is hitting .411 with five homers and 19 RBIs in his last 14 games. “He’s on fire,” manager Ken Macha said. “I told him I didn’t want to stand next to him because I was afraid of spontaneous combustion.” Each of the last four Brewers games have been decided by just a single run, as they are 2-2 in that span and 20-14 overall in one-run contests. Since the start of the 2008 season, Milwaukee has the second-highest winning percentage at Busch Stadium of any visiting National League team (17-9, .654). The Brewers are 0-3 as a road underdog of +200 to +225 this season and 1-6 in this situation the last three years (-390).
Brewers starting pitcher Randy Wolf is an even 9-9 with a 4.86 ERA in 25 starts this season and comes in with a two-game winning streak. Over those two outings, he has received 13 runs of support, giving up six runs and 16 hits over 12.2 innings of work. He has produced quality starts in eight of his last 12 outings, going 5-3 with a 4.40 ERA over that span. The left-hander is an even 5-5 with a 5.18 ERA in 12 road starts, issuing 36 walks and collecting 44 strikeouts in 73 frames. In 13 career starts versus the Cardinals, Wolf brings in a 4-6 record and 3.64 ERA, including a 1-3 mark and 4.38 ERA in four lifetime outings at the new Busch Stadium.
St. Louis has had a problem at third base for most of the season, as the team was stung once again by a costly error by Felipe Lopez in Tuesday’s loss. “We lost that game because of me. That’s all,” Lopez said. “I make those plays, we win.” First baseman Albert Pujols has been doing his part in August, hitting .434 with seven home runs and 15 RBIs in 13 games, including launching his 31st round tripper of the season last night. Even with those numbers by their All-Star, the club is just 7-6 this month (-320) The Cardinals are 22-20 in day games this season (-590) and the total is 17-23 O/U in those contests. The team is averaging 4.6 runs per game under the sun and hitting for a combined .251 average. St. Louis is 6-2 this season as a home favorite of -225 to -250 (+140) and 8-3 in this spot over the last three years (+100).
Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright is 17-6 with a 1.99 ERA in 25 starts this season and has won three straight games heading into today’s contest. Over that span, he has allowed just a single run and 10 hits over 23 innings of work. The right-hander hasn’t allowed a run in five of his last seven starts, a stretch that’s seen him go 5-1 with a 1.31 ERA. Wainwright is 5-0 with a 0.97 ERA in his last six overall starts versus Milwaukee, including a 2-0 record and 0.50 ERA in two outings against them this year. He is a dominating 11-0 with a 1.22 ERA in 12 home starts and just an impressive 9-0 record and 1.30 ERA in 10 daytime appearances.
Bettors may take a shot on the large underdog knowing that the Brewers are 4-0 in Wolf’s last four road starts versus a team with a winning record. St. Louis is 4-1 in its last five home games versus a left-handed starter and 36-15 in Wainwright’s last 51 home starts.
