The red hot St. Louis Cardinals will shoot for the rare four game sweep this afternoon as they battle the New York Mets at Busch Stadium. Today’s series finale between the two squads is scheduled to get underway at 1:45pm ET. MLB Free Picks and Odds have the hosting Cardinals listed as a huge -240 moneyline favorite and the Over/Under set at 7.5 runs (Over favored at -115 odds). The Mets are drawing +200 odds to garner their 15^th win of the season.

 

The Cardinals look like an unstoppable force right now, having won 12 of their last 14 games, but their NL Central lead is only 2.5 games as they continue to fight of the equally hot Cincinnati Reds.

 

Fortunately for St. Louis, that gap should increase or at a minimum stay the same this afternoon with Adam Wainwright squaring off against the Mets hapless lineup.

 

Wainwright (5-2) has suffered through a couple of lackluster outings this season, but his numbers are still tremendous. The veteran right hander brings a 2.30 ERA and 0.99 WHIP into today’s contest and he is coming off a nine inning shutout in which he allowed just two hits and struck out seven.

 

New York will counter Wainwright with struggling lefty Jonathan Niese, who is 2-4 with a 5.93 ERA in eight starts. Niese has been battling a neck issue of late and his health problems were certainly reflected in his two most recent outings. The Ohio native yielded 15 hits, 15 earned runs, and nine free passes over 8.1 innings in losses to the Braves and Pirates.

 

The Cardinals have won six of the last seven meetings between these two teams and they are 7-2 in their last nine games against the Mets at Busch Stadium.

 

Notable Trends: The Cardinals are 8-2 in their last 10 games as a home favorite with a total between 7.5 and 8 runs and Wainwright on the hill.

 

 

New York Mets +1.5 (-105), Over 7.5 (-115), +200 (Moneyline)

St. Louis Cardinals -1.5 (-115), Under 7.5 (-105), -240 (Moneyline)

 

What baseball bettors need to know about New York Mets at St Louis Cardinals on Thursday (5/16/13) - a free pick from Pregame.com's Bryan Leonard with Vegas Runner and host Steve Fezzik.