The MLB Playoffs Betting Odds for Game 1 of the World Series have the St. Louis Cardinals favored at -119 (must risk $119.00 to win $100.00) and the Texas Rangers +109 ($100.00 wager would pay back $209.00) with the total set at 7.5 (over -120). The St. Louis Cardinals host the opening game of the World Series Wednesday night and the first pitch will be thrown at 8:05 p.m. The game will be televised nationally on FOX. The Rangers come into the Fall Classic as the first team since the Yankees in the early 2000s to make back-to-back American League appearances. St. Louis enters this World Series having the second most titles in Major League Baseball with 10, second to the Yankees with 27.
Free World Series Analysis: The Rangers blasted their way past the Tigers in the ALCS as Nelson Cruz set records for home runs (6) and RBI (13) in a single postseason series. A potent lineup that averaged 6.5 runs per game in the ALCS, Texas has a number of professional hitters and there really are no guaranteed outs in the order. They have major power at a number of positions and the emergence of Michael Young in the final couple of games against Detroit is huge. "The Rangers are scary. They're a scary team," said David Freese, the NLCS MVP. "You look at that lineup, you look at that staff. It's going to be a battle." C.J. Wilson is going to take the hill for the Rangers against St. Louis and current Cardinal hitters are just 6-for-25 against him in limited time. These two squads haven't met up since 2004 in Interleague Play, so it will be nice to watch two fairly even teams match up for the World Series title. St. Louis ace Chris Carpenter takes the mound for his fourth start of the playoffs. He and his team are unbeaten in three starts. Likewise with Wilson, Carpenter has limited experience going against current Texas Rangers, allowing just 8 hits in 37 at bats. Texas will have to avoid a second straight World Series where they were shutdown by a pitching staff. The Rangers lost to San Fransisco in five games in 2010. They seem much more focused this season. St. Louis probably should have missed the playoffs as they were 10.5 games back in the standings with just a month left in the season. If they were able to win their second crown in just five seasons, it would be a remarkable story. They have a great lineup as well with sluggers Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday and even Lance Berkman. Freese has also emerged as a bigtime hitter for St. Louis. It will be interesting to see how Texas pitches to Pujols in the series. They were able to neutralize Miguel Cabrera often with intentional walks in the Detroit series. If they have to pitch to Pujols in the series, just how damaging can he be? That could prove to be the biggest sign in this series.
Free Game 1 Pick: I'm going to take the Cardinals in the opening game of the series. I like Chris Carpenter on the hill for the Cards. Texas was able to bash around the Tigers in the ALCS but St. Louis proved they could hit the ball as well against Milwaukee. I'm not saying these lineups are equal, but in a short series I don't think the Cardinals lose as much as the public may believe. If Wilson can command the strikezone and get easy outs, the Cardinals will be in trouble. But, if Tony La Russa's team continues to pound strikes and hits in good counts, they will hit Wilson tonight and do some damage. I'm expecting a bit of a slow down offensively for Texas in this game, and hopefully the Cards can take advantage. Play on St. Louis.
Betting Strategies: Handicapping Theories
Host Marco D'Angelo and Pregame Pro Dave Essler discuss there handicapping theories and what they look at when they are handicapping games.