The St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Nationals are set for the middle game of a three game series on Tuesday. St. Louis is looking to get an anemic offense going while the Nationals are fresh off a series where the Phillies more than doubled up their runs for the series, 27-13.
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ODDS ANALYSIS
The Cardinals offense started the season challenged with a matchup with the Cubs and then they were shutout in the series opener on Friday against the Reds. They came around to score 10 on Saturday, but were left scoreless again on Sunday.
St. Louis really needs Dexter Fowler to heat up. He’s already struck out seven times and hasn’t provided any sort of spark a top the order.
The Cardinals best overall hitter is Matt Carpenter, but he’s ice cold, too. In fact, the team’s starting pitchers have combined for as many hits as Carpenter through the first six games.
Meanwhile, the offense really hasn’t been the problem for the Nationals.
Washington has gotten a slow start from Trea Turner who may not be back on the field on Tuesday after injuring his leg over the weekend.
Turner showed last year he can be one of the better players in the sport and having him atop the order leading down into Daniel Murphy and Bryce Harper can be really dangerous.
If Turner is healthy and able to go by Tuesday even better, but even if Adam Eaton is atop the order, this is a pretty balanced lineup right now. Harper looks to be seeing the ball pretty well and Murphy is back to putting up Ruth-like numbers. Meanwhile, Ryan Zimmerman looks like it’s 2007 and not 2017 and if he’s swinging the bat well that’s great news for a team with a solid offensive contributor at every position.
PROBABLE PITCHERS
The Cardinals will send Lance Lynn to the mound on Tuesday looking for his first decision since 2015 after pitching to a no decision in his return from Tommy John surgery.
Lynn will matchup against veteran southpaw Gio Gonzalez who had a very strong debut to the 2017 pitching six shutout innings.
While Gonzalez made easy work of the Marlins in his last outing, he’s been seeing his ERA rise ever since his 21-win season in 2012. Last year, his ERA was 4.57 though his FIP was a more respectable 3.76.
His stuff has diminished some, but at his best, the 31-year old southpaw is still a very good pitcher.
Lynn, on the other hand, has shown throughout his career to be about as dependable as they come; that is until his elbow blew out before last season.
Still, when he’s on the mound, he delivers. He’s won more than 60-percent of his decisions and has a 3.37 career ERA. Getting back to form, however, can be difficult. That said, he looked okay in his first start.
LIVE BETTING
The late game situation in both Washington and St. Louis is a bit dicey in the early going of the season, don’t be surprised to some back-and-forth if the game remains close when the pens take over.
Blake Treinen earned the closer role for the Nationals in Spring Training, but he’s far from a certainty. He has nabbed three saves, but he’s been far from a sure thing while doing it. He and Shawn Kelley each already have a blown save.
Treinen has struck out six in his 3.1 innings of work, but he’s also allowed three runs on five hits in the process. Kelley, the other contender for the closer’s role, has given up a trio of runs in two innings of work.
The whole bullpen has been susceptible early. Granted, the 12-run first inning by Jeremy Guthrie on Saturday didn’t help the state of this pen either, though Joe Blanton did give a few innings in that game and has been pretty good so far. With seven pitchers seeing time out of the Nationals’ pen, only Koda Glover has yet to give up a run and only Glover and Blanton have given up less than three.
Of course, in St. Louis things haven’t been much better in the bullpen. Brett Cecil got the big deal in the offseason, but has allowed four runs in two innings though he had a clean inning on Sunday. Seung Hwan Oh also had a clean inning Sunday, but his first appearances was telling. Manager Mike Matheny went to him for five outs in the eventually Opening Day win over the Cubs. That tells a lack of trust for him with the rest of the pen while Oh ended up allowing three runs. Jonathan Broxton has also looked questionable.
QUICK PICK
The Cardinals have a pitcher that’s been adept in his career at keeping his team in the game and earning the win at a high rate. The bullpen is also better—at least on paper based on the names to start the season—than the Nationals’ pen, but Gonzo did have a very good start for the Nationals’ in his first outing.
The Nationals are also at home for this game and have the better overall offense with the Cardinals struggling up and down the order.
Look for the St. Louis’s offensive woes to continue with the Nationals able to take this one.
MLB Odds: Nationals 6, Cardinals 3
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