The St. Louis Cardinals take on the Philadelphia Phillies. Check out our MLB odds series for our Cardinals Phillies prediction and pick.
Adam Wainwright gets the call for the Cardinals, while Zack Wheeler goes to the mound for the Phillies.
Adam Wainwright can still sling it. He posted a 1.69 ERA in May and pushed his ERA down to 2.73 for the year. He regressed in June, posting a 3.66 ERA for the month, but his 3.07 ERA for the year is still highly impressive for the old man of the St. Louis staff, a Cardinal legend who is trying to make his last ride a special one. Wainwright ran into turbulence in consecutive starts on June 17 and 22. The Red Sox and Brewers scored a combined eight runs on him in 11 total innings pitched. Waino bounced back on June 27 with seven scoreless innings versus the Marlins. Let's see if he can carry the rhythm from that last start into this one, or if Wainwright will face choppy waters against the Phils' potent bats.
Zack Wheeler has a 2.89 ERA. He carried an 8.53 ERA (from his first three starts of the year) into an April 28 game versus the Rockies. Since then, Wheeler caught fire and steadily lowered his ERA down to 2.69 on June 16. In nine starts from April 28 through June 16, Wheeler allowed nine earned runs (one per start) in 57 2/3 innings. He was every bit the ace the Phils expect him to be. In his last two starts, Wheeler has been knocked back, albeit only moderately. He has allowed five earned runs in 10 2/3 innings pitched. We will see if he can regain his mid-May and early-June dominance in this contest.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Cardinals-Phillies MLB odds.
MLB Odds: Cardinals-Phillies Odds
St. Louis Cardinals: +1.5 (-182)
Philadelphia Phillies: -1.5 (+150)
Over: 7.5 (-110)
Under: 7.5 (-110)
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Why The Cardinals Could Cover the Spread
The Cardinals have gotten off to fast starts in this weekend series, going up 3-0 on Friday and 5-0 on Saturday. They lost Game 1 and nearly lost Game 2, but they have gotten the jump on the Phils. If they can get a fast start here, Adam Wainwright can manage the lead better than the Cardinals' pitchers did on Friday and Saturday. Nolan Arenado is locked in for the Cardinals. He is hammering the ball nearly every time he steps up to the plate. The Cardinals hit home runs on four consecutive at-bats in the first inning of Saturday's win in Philadelphia. Hitters are seeing the ball well out of the hand, and they can get to Zack Wheeler in this duel of aces.
Why The Phillies Could Cover the Spread
Even though they lost on Saturday, the Phils came back from a 5-0 deficit to tie the Cardinals. They have shown that they can come back and throw a punch if the opponent strikes first. Beyond that, Zack Wheeler has more upside than Adam Wainwright. Waino is a great pitcher and one of the best Cardinals of the 21st century, but in a one-game situation, Wheeler has better wipeout pitches and can get more swings and misses. The Phillies have to like how this matchup sets up for them. They also have to think they can get on top of a game for a change instead of falling behind early.
Final Cardinals-Phillies Prediction & Pick
This has been a weird series in which early bunches of runs have not meant much. The Phillies probably deserve the edge here, but frankly, this is a stay-away game. If you insist on picking a winner, go with Philadelphia.
Final Cardinals-Phillies Prediction & Pick: Phillies -1.5
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