Major League Baseball on Monday night and I will have a Free Pick in the game between the Milwaukee Brewers and the St Louis Cardinals, which will be played at Busch Stadium in St Louis. First pitch is scheduled for a 8:10 PM (Eastern) start time and the game will be televised on ESPN.
Betting Odds
Brewers +147
Cardinals -157
Over/ Under: 7.5 -110
This is game 1 of a 3 game series between these National League Central foes. Milwaukee picked up a win in 17 innings against Arizona yesterday, but still this is a struggling team that has the worst record in baseball and that has won just 2 of their last 11 games. The Cardinals came in with the best record in baseball at 33-17 and just took 2 of 3 at home vs the Dodgers. The Cards have been excellent at home where they are 20-6 on the year. The Brewers rank 28th in scoring (3.72 rpg), while on the mound they are 30th in ERA (4.67). St Louis ranks 16th in scoring (4.18 rpg), while on the mound they are 1st in ERA (2.73).
Trend for this game include: The Brewers are 5-11 in their last 16 games vs. a left-handed starter, 5-14 in their last 19 during game 1 of a series and 11-28 in their last 39 road games. The Cardinals come in 42-12 in their last 54 home games, 17-8 in their last 25 during game 1 of a series and 50-21 in their last 71 games as a favorite of -151 to -200.
Getting the ball for Milwaukee tonight will be Mike Friers, who is 1-5 with a 4.53 ERA on the year overall, while on the road he is 1-1 with a 2.82 ERA. Mike has gone 2-2 with a 1.69 ERA in 8 games (6 starts) vs the Cardinals, while at Busch Stadium he has gone 1-2 with a 1.83 ERA in 5 games (3 starts).
Taking the hill for St Louis today will be Jaime Garcia, who has gone 1-1 with a 3.46 ERA in 2 starts this year. Garci has pitched well in Busch Stadium in his career, going 24-13 with a 2.94 ERA in 55 games (50 starts) here. He has faced the brewers 13 times, with 12 of them being starts and he is 6-3 with a 3.26 ERA in those games.
Pick: This is not a great spot for the Cards as they are coming off a huge weekend series vs the Dodgers, but still they are at home where they have been dominant this year and they will be taking on a Brewers team that is just awful right now. The Cards have a big edge on the mound and they also have the better offense here and this is the team with the best record vs the team with the worst. I just can't see the Brewers taking this one.
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