Two of the biggest rivals in all of baseball will wrap their three-game set Wednesday afternoon when Carlos Martinez toes the bump for the Redbirds in hopes of securing his third win to start the season against the Cubs’ Kyle Hendricks who will hope his defense is much better behind him than it was in his last outing against the Rockies.
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ODDS ANALYSIS
The Cardinals took eight of these teams 19 overall regular season meetings a year ago, but the Cubs logged the wins when they mattered most by taking three of four to make quick work of manager Mike Matheny’s club in the NLDS.
Martinez figures to be a midrange home chalk in this one regardless of the fact that St. Louis looked up to the Cubs in the standings heading into Monday’s opener. The Cardinals have defended their home turf at Busch well against their hated rivals in winning 13 of the last 20 overall battles.
Chicago went into this series costing baseball bettors a boatload of cash after dropping two of three to the Rockies as -235 and -230 chalk. St. Louis took two of three from Cincinnati to secure its third straight series win after getting swept in Pittsburgh to open the year.
PROBABLE PITCHERS
Don’t let the seven hits and four runs Kyle Hendricks allowed in his last start cloud your judgement of the young hurler. Chicago’s defense let him down in a big way committing four errors that the righty was unable to pitch around. He did however do himself no favors by committing one himself.
To date, Hendricks is 1-1 with a 2.84 ERA and 0.95 WHIP. The opposition is only hitting him to the tune of a .224 batting average against, but he’s had issues with the Redbirds in the past evidenced by him giving up 23 hits and 10 ER over just 22.1 innings of work. He didn’t qualify for a decision in either of his Busch Stadium starts, but owns a 4.91 ERA and .268 BAA there.
Carlos Martinez needs no introduction. Like Adam Wainwright before him, he figures to be the torchbearer as the team’s staff ace for many years to come. After going through some growing pains last season, the youngster has gotten out of the gate quick in 2016 with a pair of quality starts in as many tries against Atlanta and Cincinnati.
While the Reds have proven to have an above average offense through the first couple weeks of the season, the Braves certainly do not. This will no doubt be his toughest chore of the season running up against Anthony Rizzo and company. While he did manage a 2-0 record through four starts against the Cubs in 2015, he was hit around pretty good in giving up 31 hits and 16 ER while walking 15 through 31.2 total innings pitched.
LIVE BETTING
If you’re into prop betting or DFS, I’d take strong looks at a pair of Matt’s in this one - Carpenter and Holliday.
The former normally sets the table for the latter in the lead-off spot and has already scored eight runs and knocked home 10 RBIs. He’s 4 for 11 in the team’s last three series finales and owns a career 1.567 OPS versus Hendricks in 12 plate appearances.
Holliday enters off a big weekend series against the Reds whom he touched up for a pair of long balls and three extra base hits. Lifetime versus Hendricks, he’s batting .500 in 12 at-bats with 2 home runs and 4 RBIs. He sat in the series finale versus Cincinnati, so make sure he’s in the starting lineup before pouncing.
QUICK PICK
The Cubs have what I have handicapped as the starting pitching advantage in the first game of this series with former Cardinal John Lackey set to square off against Mike Leake. Game 2 is a toss-up between Jason Hammel and Jaime Garcia as good a start as each hurler has gotten out to their respective campaigns.
As much as I’d like to say the Cubs pitching staff has what it takes to go into Busch and dominate, they really haven’t faced this type of setting this season. Martinez has combined to go 13 innings in his first two starts, and provided he has his good control like he did in his home debut versus Cincy, I figure he’ll go deep into this one as well.
Chicago’s bats really cooled off after teeing off on Angels, D’backs and Reds pitching to open the season. This will be Kris Bryant and his mate’s toughest challenge of the young season, and I just don’t see them overcoming it. Look for C-Mart to dazzle and likely lead the home team to the series victory.
MLB Odds: Cardinals 4, Cubs 3
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 Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals is scheduled for Wednesday, April 20, 2016, at 1:45 p.m. ET at Busch Stadium. You can watch the contest live on the MLB Network.
