Monday night baseball and I will have a Free Pick in the game between the St Louis Cardinals and the New York Mets, which will be played at Citi Field in New York. First pitch is scheduled for a 7:10 PM (Eastern) start time and the game will be televised on ESPN.

Betting Odds

Cardinals          +128
Mets                  -138

Over/ Under: 6.5 U -120

This is game 1 of a 4 game series between these National League foes. The St Louis Cardinals pick up a big win at home last night as they beat the Detroit Tigers to avoid a 3 game sweep. The Cards are 25-12 on the year and lead the NL Central by 4 games over the Cubs. The ets have cooled off after their hot start to the year, as they have won just 2 of their last 7 games, but still they have a half game lead over the Nationals in the NA East with a 22-16 record, while at home they are 15-4.  

St Louis ranks 14th in scoring (4.35 rpg), 5th in hitting (.268) and 20th in homers (31), while on the mound they are 1st in ERA (2.87) and 10th in WHIP (1.25). St Louis is 8-2 in their last 10 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600 and 20-6 in their last 26 games vs. a right-handed starter, but just 1-6 in Lackey's last 7 road starts. 

New York ranks 22nd in scoring (3.92 rpg), 23rd in hitting (.239) and 21st in homers (30), while on the mound they are 2nd in ERA (3.00) and 3rd in WHIP (1.14). The Mets have gone 21-5 in their last 26 games as a home favorite of -110 to -150 and 5-1 in Harvey's last 6 home starts with the total set at 6.5 or lower, but just 1-5 in his last 6 starts vs. the NL Central.  

Getting the ball for St Louis tonight will be john Lackey, who is 2-2 on the year with a solid 3.22 ERA overall, but on the road he is 0-1 with a 5.82 ERA in 3 starts. John has just 2 career starts vs the Mets and he is 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA in those starts. 

Getting the ball for the Mets tonight will be Matt Harvey, who is 5-1 with a 2.31 ERA on the year overall, while at home he is 3-0 with a 3.32 ERA in 3 starts. Matt has faced the Cards twice in his career and he is 0-2 with a 3.00 ERA in those starts.  

Pick: I am going with the Mets here as I feel this is not a good spot for the Cards, who are coming off a Sunday night game and then have to travel and play the next night. The Mets have been very good at home this year and have a nice 21-5 run going as a home favorite of -110 to -150, plus they have Matt Harvey on the mound who has a 3-0 mark at home this year and a 2.08 ERA in 21 career starts in this park. For the Cards they will be sending out John Lackey, who has been a mess on the road his year. The Cards have averaged 3.4 rpg in their last 5 games, while the Mets have put up 5 rpg over the same stretch. This is a good spot for the Mets to continue their dominance at home this year, especially with the pitching matchup and the fact that the Cards are in a terrible travel spot. 

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