The St. Louis Cardinals (18-6 SU, +10.79 Units) have been dominant en route to the lead in the NL Central through the first month of the season. They can continue to open up space between themselves and the Chicago Cubs (13-10, +1.09 Units) if they can win the first game of a four-game set on Monday night.
ODDS ANALYSIS
The opening betting lines in this game suggest that the Cardinals are going to end up being winners even though their closer probably isn't going to be available for this game. St. Louis has opened up a -155 favorite, while the total has been set at 7.
The Cards have been favored in every game on this 11-game home stand to date, while each of the seven games has featured a total of between 6.5 and 7.5.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Carlos Martinez started this season in the St. Louis bullpen, and his first appearance was actually against these Cubs. Little did we know that after picked up a hold for pitching a scoreless frame on Opening Day that he would go on to be one of the best starting pitchers the league had in the month of April.
Martinez has now thrown 26 innings, allowing just 17 hits and five runs in the process. Walks are sometimes an issue, though 10 in 26 innings isn't an outrageously high number.
More important is the fact that the right-hander has a 2.61 ERA against the Cubs in his career, and they are hitting just .171 against him. Of course, it should be noted that all 10 appearances came in relief.
Travis Wood hasn't fared nearly as well for the Cubs against the Cardinals. He is 5-6 in his 16 career starts with a 5.18 ERA. St. Louis' hitters are knocking him around for a .295 batting average as well.
Wood has been awful this season on the road, allowing six runs in just 9.2 innings in his two starts. Contrast that to at home where the southpaw has allowed just two runs over 14 frames. Both of his wins came at Wrigley Field as well.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"It's good to come out on the positive side. We don't read too much into streaks and innings like that, because it's going to come a time when it's going to be probably the other way around. So what we have to do is try to keep the game as it is when we come in." – Cardinals relief pitcher, Carlos Villanueva, who was a part of a unit which threw 21.1 consecutive scoreless innings before Sunday
SITUATIONAL BETTING
It's not all good right now for the Cards, though. When they get to the end of the game, we aren't all that sure who is going to be trotting out of the bullpen. Trevor Rosenthal has pitched on three consecutive days, and after he blew a save on Sunday, we have a tough time imagining that he is going to be sent back out there on Monday.
PROP TALK
Don't be stunned if the Cardinals are playing wall ball all night long against Wood on Monday. Matt Holliday has four career home runs in just 40 at bats against the lefty, while Yadier Molina has three dingers and 13 RBIs in 38 at bats.
Matt Carpenter is batting .267 for his career against Wood, and he has the worst average of the other qualified batters on the team, Holliday (.375), Molina (.395) and Jon Jay (.406).
ANALYSIS & PREDICTION
Yes, there's a concern about the bullpen, but we still love the way the Cardinals are coming up with big hits right now in big spots.
Throw in the fact that Wood hasn't been a convincing pitcher on the road and has historically been terrible in this park and the way that Martinez has been pitching, and you've got the makings of yet another game in the win column for the Redbirds.
St. Louis 7, Chicago 3
The MLB odds for this game were available first at BookMaker Sportsbook. The Cardinals opened up at -155, while the total surfaced at 7. 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!
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