The St. Louis Cardinals ( 28-17, $1,048 ) snapped their three game losing streak on Sunday prior to their three game set at home against the Arizona Diamondbacks ( 21-22, $142 ). They will look to try and close out another series finale victory—this time against the D’backs—on Wednesday.
ODDS ANALYSIS
Just when it looks like the Cardinals may have hit a wall, they bounce back and run off a series of wins to once again establish themselves as one of—if not the—best team(s) in the game.
After losing Adam Wainwright early, the Cards have continued to put together win after win and do so on the backs of their strong pitching. A large portion of which can be credited to a bullpen ranked first in the National League and just behind Kansas City and Houston in baseball.
That pen helps to make up some of the gaps on offense and allow St. Louis to win the close ones.
Still, you cannot win if you do not score and that has been an issue of late with a pair of shutouts in their last four games heading into the Arizona series and scoring two or fewer in five of their last eight games.
On the other side, the Diamondbacks have gritted out a few wins of late, taking six of their last seven including series wins against the Marlins and the then-surging Cubs.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Wednesday should feature Josh Collmenter on the mound for Arizona.
Collmenter was supposed to be the only bright spot in an otherwise dismal rotation, but that has not been the case with Chase Anderson and Archie Bradley stepping up while Collmenter has floundered.
The 29-year old right-hander came into this season after breaking into the rotation with a 3.46 ERA a year ago, but is only 3-5 with a 5.19 ERA and 1.365 WHIP in 52 innings here in 2015.
It has not all been bad for Collmenter who has an eight and nine inning shutouts already under his belt. Unfortunately, he also has an outing where he surrendered nine runs without getting out of the second. Over his last two starts, Collmenter has pitched 11 innings and allowed six runs.
Lance Lynn will take the hill against Collmenter in the series finale.
Just a little younger than Collmenter at 28-years old, Lynn does have more experience as this is the righty’s fourth year as a fulltime starter.
He’s gotten better little-by-little over his first three years and has been solid once again this season. In nine starts, Lynn is 3-4 with a 3.46 ERA and 1.317 WHIP in 55 2/3 innings. He has three clunkers this season, including his last start where he went six innings and allowed five runs.
In his career, however, he’s pitched well against Arizona with a 2.61 ERA and like an ace at home with a 2.80 ERA and 1.158 WHIP.
QUOTE TO NOTE
After his last start, Cards’ starter Lance Lynn talked about the back pain that plagued him in his start and whether he would be able pitch on Wednesday, saying:
“We’ll get it fixed and see what we can do going forward.”
LIVE/SITUATIONAL BETTING
Of late, the Cardinals’ offense has reverted to its form from last year that struggled to put runs on the board. Overall, the team is made up of four plus offensive performers this year in Kolten Wong ( .824 OPS ), Jhonny Peralta ( .844 OPS ), Matt Holliday ( .876 OPS ) and Matt Carpenter ( .966 OPS ). Otherwise, the rest of the team has been average at best with Yadier Molina showing no power and Jason Heyward once again struggling to get going.
In the Cardinals’ series finale with the Royals on Sunday, there was promise of others getting going. Holliday did not play and the other three top performers got hits, but so did Matt Adams who was 2 for 4. His left-handed bat is crucial in the middle of the order.
For the Diamondbacks, their offense has picked it up in recent games. Paul Goldschmidt is one of the game’s best and is hitting .327 with 11 home runs and 35 RBIs and is supported by Yasmany Tomas ( .789 OPS ) who is settling into the big leagues as well as David Peralta ( .774 OPS ), A.J. Pollock ( .806 OPS ) and Mark Trumbo ( .808 OPS ).
PROP TALK
The entire Cardinals team is hitting just .179 collectively in their careers against Collmenter, but with his recent struggles a Cards hitter isn’t a bad bet.
In particular, Matt Carpenter is always a good choice to put some hits on the board. He is 1 for 2 in his career against Collmenter and has hit in nine of his last 10 games; he’s hitting .323 for the year.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
Arizona is surging after a series win over Chicago, but the Cardinals are the better team. Lynn is a much more proven pitcher than Collmenter and has been more stable this year. While he does have three poor outings, he lasted five in each and at least kept the team in the game.
In addition, the Cardinals are nearly unbeatable at home, going 15-5 making it an even steeper uphill climb for Arizona.
St. Louis 6, Arizona 4
The MLB odds for this game will be available first at BookMaker Sportsbook. Gamble on the game between every half inning with BookMaker’s live betting feature. Along with an adjusted in-game moneyline, you can wager on what will happen in the next at-bat or how many runs will be scored in the next inning. Live betting is the most exciting way to play!
Load your betting bankroll from your smartphone with BookMaker’s new cashier feature! Depositing and withdrawing funds from your account has never been easier. BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here and start wagering today! First pitch for the game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and St. Louis Cardinals is scheduled for Wednesday, May 27, 2015, at 8:15 p.m. ET at Busch Stadium. You can watch the contest live on the MLB Network.
