The Nationals lit up the scoreboard and swept the Cardinals when the teams met in a three-game set at Busch Stadium four weeks ago. The Cards have struggled in their own yard this season and are hopeful a trip to our nation’s capital can get them some payback.
You can bet on MLB odds at BookMaker.eu every day of the season.
ODDS ANALYSIS
The Cardinals continue to maintain that it’s early, that there’s no reason to get anxious about a deficit in the NL Central. The Cards have started to show signs of making a move. It might be early, but it’s not that early as the one-third mark of the season arrives next week. The Cards remain stuck in a two-steps-forward, two-steps-back waltz to nowhere in particular. Their longest winning streak is four games, and that was six weeks ago. Their longest losing streak is four games.
St. Louis owned the best home record in the major leagues last season. This year, they’re hovering around the .500 mark. So it may be that a road trip is what they need after a nine-game home stand. The Cardinals are, after all, 11-5 away from Busch Stadium since being swept in the season-opening series at Pittsburgh. They’re in the black 5.70 units on the moneyline in those 16 road contests.
PROBABLE PITCHERS
Jamie Garcia (3-4, 3.59 ERA) was pounded for five earned runs in 2.1 innings Sunday as the Cardinals fell to the Diamondbacks. Arizona took an aggressive approach and it paid off for three runs in the first inning. Garcia yielded 10 hits and walked one while facing 16 batters. He’s now allowed 15 hits and eight runs in 7.1 innings over his past two starts. It was the first time Garcia had gone fewer than five innings this season.
Garcia had lowered his ERA below 3.00 with a pair of scoreless seven-inning outings to start the month of May. However, the number ballooned to 3.59 after Sunday’s disaster. Garcia faced Washington on Apr. 30 and took the loss after giving up four runs on four hits in 6.1 innings. Over his career, the crafty left-hander is 4-2 with a 3.32 ERA in seven starts against the Nats.
Max Scherzer (5-3, 3.80 ERA) turned in a strong performance in Sunday’s win over the Marlins, allowing two runs on six hits over eight innings. He was sharp all day throwing 76 of 103 pitches for strikes with eight strikeouts and no walks. His only mistake was a two-run homer by Justin Bour, the 14th Scherzer has given up this year and ninth in his past four starts.
The long ball rate remains high and is the primary driver behind Scherzer’s 3.80 ERA, but otherwise his numbers are solid, including 38 strikeouts over his last 23.1 innings. He tossed seven innings of shutout ball with nine punchouts in a 6-1 win at St. Louis on May 1.
LIVE BETTING
Now that Ben Revere is back in the lineup, the Nationals are hoping he can add a spark to the leadoff spot in their batting order. Revere missed the first month of the season, then struggled after returning from the disabled list on May 6. He had three hits Sunday, his third multi-hit game in three starts, and stole his first two bases of the season. He also scored a run in three of his four starts, looking more like the .291 career hitter the Nats thought they were getting in the first place.
Revere is now about 60 at-bats into his season, the number many hitters hope to get in spring training, the number around which many hitters start to feel ready again. He had a stretch of games last week with seven hits in 14 at-bats, looking more comfortable at the plate. If Revere’s confidence is indeed back, the Nats lineup could function far differently that it has up to this point.
QUICK PICK
Scherzer appears to be locked in after a few rough outings earlier in the year caused his ERA to be a bit higher than we’re used to seeing. If he can stay away from giving up the gopher ball, his numbers should get even better as the season progresses. The long ball has been an issue for Scherzer, however one start he failed to yield a big fly was against the Cardinals on May 1, when he was dominant in seven shutout innings.
Washington strolled into Busch Stadium four weeks ago and swept the Cards rather convincingly with a pair of 6-1 victories and a 5-4 verdict. St. Louis has yet to show us that it can be a force in the NL Central and the Cards inconsistent play is maddening, especially from their pitching staff. I like where the Nats are headed offensively and coming off a tough series with the Mets, they’ll be looking to inflict some damage.
MLB Odds: Washington 6, St. Louis 2
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 St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Nationals is scheduled for Friday, May 27, 2016, at 7:05 p.m. ET at Nationals Park. You can watch the contest live on the MLB Network.
