Shelby Miller really made a name for himself pitching for the St. Louis Cardinals. He'll be the enemy for the first time in the Gateway to the West on Saturday though, when he leads his Atlanta Braves into Busch Stadium.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Miller was crazy good at Busch Stadium when he was with the Cards. This is a man who had a 2.51 ERA and a .215 batting average against when he was pitching at this stadium donning the infamous red of the Cardinals.
However, this is the first time that he is going against so many of these batters, many of which used to be his teammates.
The big concern we have in this game for Miller is the fact that he has been allowing a lot of contact of late, much of which has been for power. The righty has conceded at least one home runs in three of his last four starts, and he has given up a total of 30 hits in just 22.1 innings in that stretch as well. This is, by far, one of his toughest starts of the season.
Live bettors have to worry about Carlos Martinez in this game. The fact of the matter is that he hasn't started a game since July 9 thanks to the fact that he pitched in relief in that 18-inning marathon against the Mets last weekend.
Martinez was already a man who rarely was stretched out into the seventh and eighth innings, and now, he has to really get his arm right after throwing 72 pitches last weekend in relief for his last outing.
Starting pitchers tend to be creatures of habit, and if Martinez has any signs that he isn't quite right, it might be time to fade away on him in live betting.
ADVANCED STATS
The Cardinals aren't going to overwhelm you with any of their offensive stats, but there isn't a manager in baseball which isn't terrified going up against this lineup. There's something to be said about being "clutch," and St. Louis' batters tend to have that genetic structure.
St. Louis' ISO is very low at .134, and it shouldn't be surprising at all to see that out of a team which ranks No. 27 in the bigs in total home runs. That said, a .324 on base percentage as a team is quite good, especially for a National League squad with a bunch of pitchers who are below average hitters, even for pitchers.
TALKING BULLPENS
The Braves took a major hit in their bullpen when they lost Jason Grilli for the season. Jim Johnson is legitimately on the trading block as well, which would only further make matters worse.
Atlanta ranks No. 23 in the game in bullpen WAR at +0.5, which is a dismal statistic. This is a team with an ERA of 4.23 in relief alongside a FIP of 3.97. Yes, live bettors should know that this unit should have better luck than it has had, but in all honesty, we're still talking about bad stats overall. We wouldn't trust this bullpen, particularly at the back end in a close game, knowing that Johnson probably isn't a legitimate closer at this point in his career, and there aren't many arms in this pen who have pitched in a slew of high-leverage situations in the past.
The baseball betting odds for this game will first be available at BookMaker Sportsbook. BookMaker is going to have multiple betting options available for this baseball matchup. Live wagering during commercials offers and adjusted moneyline, individual inning run totals and next hitter results. Log in, and start gambling during the game now!
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! The game between the Atlanta Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals will start at 7:15 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 25, 2015 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO. The matchup will be televised nationally on FOX Sports 1.
