After a successful road trip where they absolutely crushed the baseball, the Cardinals return to Busch Stadium, where they’ve been the best in the big leagues the past few seasons. St. Louis will attempt to continue its recent hot streak against the NL East leading Nationals.
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ODDS ANALYSIS
The Cardinals continue to show signs of being a very different club from the 2015 version. Last year, St. Louis rode a tried-and-true formula of pitching and solid defense to 100 victories as their pitching often obscured the team’s popgun offense. Through 20 games this season, the Cardinals have hit 32 home runs, 19 more than they had hit through this many games last season. They entered Wednesday slugging .501, 101 points higher than the same time last year.
There is, however, a valid counterargument. Through 20 games last season, the Cards’ staff was stifling and they were a better overall team. They had three more wins and their team ERA was nearly a run and a half better than it is now. That has allowed the Cards to play above the total in five straight games with the over 6-1 in their last seven.
PROBABLE PITCHERS
There’s a good chance we see Joe Ross (2-0, 0.54 ERA) on the bump Saturday for the Nationals. He exited his last start after two innings when a blister opened up on his right middle finger and the Nats scratched him from his turn Tuesday night against the Phils.
Ross had a magnificent start to the year giving up just one run and eight hits over 14.2 innings of his first two starts. He allowed one hit before leaving his Apr. 20 start and owns a stellar 0.54 ERA in 16.2 frames. However, two starts were against Miami and the other against Philadelphia, so take that for what it’s worth.
Since throwing a one-hit shutout on Apr. 14, Jaime Garcia (1-1, 3.24 ERA) has posted a pair of so-so starts. He lasted five innings in his last one and was peppered for eight hits and three walks while struggling to harness his own pitch movement.
Garcia has issued seven walks in his past two outings and has failed to record an out in the sixth inning both times. Still, he owns a solid 3.24 ERA with 29 strikeouts in 25.0 innings so far. Garcia is 4-1 with a 2.88 ERA in six career starts against the Nats and has been nasty at home with a 2.65 lifetime ERA in 404.2 innings at Busch Stadium.
LIVE BETTING
The Nationals got another quality start on Wednesday, the rotations 14th in 20 games this season. But they failed to take advantage in a 3-0 loss to the Phillies. Overall, Washington ranks just ninth in the NL with an average of 4.3 runs per game. In the past 10 games, the lineup has been especially weak, averaging just 3.3 runs per game.
It’s a surprising trend for a team that finished third in the league in scoring each of the past two seasons and was supposed to be improved with several major additions and the return to health for three key veterans. Outside of Bryce Harper, Daniel Murphy and Wilson Ramos, each of whom is hitting above .300, the rest of the team has a combined .202 average. It might be tough to wake up the bats in pitcher-friendly Busch Stadium.
QUICK PICK
Ross has been outstanding this season and with his blister on the mend he’s scheduled to get the ball on Saturday. But his impressive numbers have come against the Marlins and Phillies, two teams near the bottom of the rankings in runs scored. He’ll throw against a Cardinals team that leads the majors in runs and is second in hitting. It’s a different team than we’re used to seeing in St. Louis.
While the Cards are peppering the ball all over the field, the Nats have struggled to score, wasting some fine pitching performances of their own. How bad has it been? On Wednesday, the Nats put up a goose egg against Jeremy Hellickson, who had allowed 17 hits and nine earned runs in 7.1 innings over his previous two starts. One of those came against Washington. If they don’t start hitting soon, it could be a bumpy ride.
MLB Odds: St. Louis 4, Washington 3
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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 Washington Nationals and St. Louis Cardinals is scheduled for Saturday, April 30, 2016, at 2:15 p.m. ET at Busch Stadium. You can watch the contest live on the MLB Network.
