Just by looking at the raw stats, Max Scherzer and Michael Wacha are definitely a pair of aces who are going to be on the mound on Wednesday night. Neither one might pitch like an ace though, which could create a tough situation for live bettors to muddle through in the final game of this series between the Washington Nationals and the St. Louis Cardinals.
PITCHING MATCHUP
All of a sudden in his last three starts, Scherzer has gone from Cy Young contender to a guy who truly is struggling mightily. His ERA is north of seven in this span, and he been horribly inefficient with his pitches.
Matt Williams is going to let Scherzer go as long as he needs to, so pitch count isn't the end all, be all here. However, the righty has cost bettors 8.64 units in his last four starts, and that's a major part of the reason why the Nats have fallen so far behind the Mets in the NL East chase.
For live betting purposes though, we have to keep a really close eye on Scherzer's control. He hasn't done a great job locating pitches in his last three outings, and though he is striking out batters again, he is leaving too many balls over the middle of the plate which are getting smacked. It's a tough tell to read as a live bettor, but it might be the key to victory in this game.
Even though Michael Wacha is 15-4 this year, we aren't necessarily buying into him either. He hasn't gotten out of the sixth inning in either of his last two starts, and in the most recent start, he allowed four unearned runs against the Giants. Wacha has averaged right at 17.0 pitches per inning on the road in his last two outings, and if that's what he is averaging in this game, he won't get into the seventh, which will put a huge strain on this bullpen.
ADVANCED STATS
The Nationals have pretty much been boom or bust over the course of the last month. They have a team ISO of .177 in that stretch, largely thanks to the home run hitters laying good wood on the ball from time to time, but batting just .255 in that stretch isn't helping matters any.
You hate to think that Scherzer needs a pick-me-up from his offense, but he hasn't been getting much help lately and hasn't been helping himself either. Know that a huge inning could be right around the corner for the Nationals, knowing that they can turn a walk and a bloop single into three runs in a hurry with one swing of the bat. More often than not though, Wacha should be able to put zeroes on the board.
TALKING BULLPENS
Washington's bullpen hasn't exactly been stellar here in this series either. In both games, the relievers have conceded five runs, and Casey Janssen has had it particularly rough on both nights, getting rocked for seven runs in just 1.1 innings in this run.
It's St. Louis' pen which concerns us, though, particularly at the end of the game. This unit had to throw 6.1 innings yesterday and three innings prior to that. Kevin Siegrist gave up three runs in his one inning of work on Monday, while Trevor Rosenthal loaded up the bases before finally getting out of it that same game.
Runs have been coming in bunches in the late innings, and that might not be an exception in this game either, something live bettors should most definitely be aware of heading into Wednesday night.
The baseball betting odds for this game will first be available at BookMaker Sportsbook. BookMaker is going to have multiple betting options available for this baseball matchup. Live wagering during commercials offers and adjusted moneyline, individual inning run totals and next hitter results. Log in, and start gambling during the game now!
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! The game between the Washington Nationals and the St. Louis Cardinals will start at 8:15 p.m. ET on Wednesday, September 2, 2015 at Busch Stadium. The matchup will be televised nationally on ESPN.
