Now I'm being called a St. Louis homer. What is a homer in sports betting. To me it's someone who bets on a team BLINDLY whenever they play. St. Louis is definitely my favorite team. Therefore I know them better than any other team in the league. But I NEVER bet anyone blindly. Let me tell you my approach to their games this year. Early in the year I bet against them and lost every time I did. I made up my mind I wouldn't bet against them again. If I couldn't find a reason to bet on them I would just leave the game alone. I ended up the regular season with a record of 240-215 +50.08 units with more plays on St. Louis than any other team. I don't think their are too many people, pro's or poster's, with a better record than that. When I have time I always do a write up on my reason's for making the pick. Of the people that picked the Cubs yesterday I don't recall one person giving a good solid case for their pick while I laid mine out in my post. I ALWAYS have solid reasons for making a play even though I don't always have time to state them. One last thing. I think the Cardinals should be favored in every game in this series except when Arrieta pitches unless something unexpected happens.
Game two features Kyle Hendricks (8-7) for the Cubs and Jamie Garcia (10-6) for the Cardinals. Hendricks pitching on the road is 6-4 with a 4.47 era and a 1.24 whip. Garcia at home is 5-2 with a 1.70 era and a 0.89 whip. Hendricks has faced the Cardinals once this year with the Cubs taking a 7-4 loss where he wen 5 innings giving up 4 er. I took the following from MLB.com.
• While Hendricks has had his change up getting lots of swing-and-misses lately -- the Cubs won five of his six starts in September, with him going 2-1 with a 3.03 ERA -- he seems unlikely to work more than two times around the order. St. Louis leadoff man Matt Carpenter is 6-for-10 with one homer off Hendricks, and Matt Holliday (6-for-12, two homers) and Jhonny Peralta (4-for-11) have given him a lot of trouble. Garcia, conversely, is largely an unknown for Cubs batters. Starlin Castro is the only one who has faced him while wearing a Chicago uniform, as Garcia last started against the Cubs on April 23, 2012.
Once again we're getting the better starter, team, and bullpen at a good price. If Hendricks does indeed only last two times through the order then the Cubs are definitely in trouble. For the Cubs to have a chance in this series their starters have to go deep into games.
3* ST. LOUIS -132