Game 2 of the World Series is tonight and the game will be televised nationally on FOX. The Betting Odds for Game 2 of the World Series have the Texas Rangers favored at -118 (must risk $118.00 to win $100.00) and the St. Louis Cardinals +108 ($100.00 wager would pay back $209.00) with the total set at 8 (over -110). The St. Louis Cardinals hosted the opening game of the World Series Wednesday night and they came away with a 3-2 victory. Game 2 will have the first pitch will be thrown at 8:05 p.m. 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 Analysis: The Cardinals took advantage of timely hitting in the opening game of the Series and stuck a nice bullpen rotation right in Texas' face. The Rangers got a longball from Mike Napoli to tie the game midway through, but these Cardinals seem to be a team of destiny. They nearly didn't get into the post season and without a collapse from the Atlanta Braves, they would be home watching the Fall Classic. Chris Carpenter didn't pitch his best game last night, which might be a bit scary for Ranger fans. He allowed two earned runs over six innings and didn't even throw 90 pitches. Tonight's starter Jaime Garcia has limited exposure against the Rangers, tossing only six at bats to two players. But he's been good at home this season. Garcia is 9-4, with an ERA of 2.55 and has given up 28 earned runs in 99 innings with opponents hitting .230 against him at home. Not bad, but this Texas team is a legitimate murderer's row. Rangers starter Colby Lewis wasn't that bad on the road this season. He was 9-5 with an ERA of 3.43. Lewis has given up 41 earned runs in 107 2/3 innings with opponents hitting .237 against him. Current Cardinals, however, are mashing him to a .370 clip. Many believe that the Rangers aren't capable of losing back-to-back games at this point in the season but Garcia has the edge in my opinion. When a batter hasn't faced a pitcher, I'd like to think the pitcher has an advantage. Plus with all the advanced scouting going on because it is the World Series, you have to think that the St. Louis starter is going to be ready. Texas had just six hits in Game 1 and outside of the Napoli home run, they really didn't threaten too much. I'm expecting more of the same from a team in St. Louis that just flat out knows how to win. There has to be an ending to this magical run and I think both offensively and defensively the Cardinals have the ability to get it done.
Game 2 Free Pick: I'm going to take the Cardinals at plus money +109. They opened up as the favorite in this game but that has been bet down pretty hard. However, the Cardinals are essentially in a must win situation here because they cannot go to Texas tied 1-1 with three straight being played in Arlington. That's a recipe for disaster. I look for Garcia to command the strike zone tonight and stay ahead of Ranger hitters. If he doesn't make the mistakes to give up extra base hits to Texas, St. Louis has an excellent shot.
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.