Sunday night baseball and we will see the St Louis Cardinals take on the Cincinnati Reds in the final game of their 3 game set from Cincinnati. The game is scheduled for an 8:00 (ET) pm start time and it will be televised live on ESPN. Currently the odds have Cincinnati favored at -111, while St Louis is dogs of +105. The total for the game sits at 9 runs.
Free Analysis: Although Cincinnati is on the verge of a sweep, these NL Central foes have played a very even series in the past three seasons, with St. Louis holding a 22-19 advantage, and the Reds winning 11 of 20 at home. This season, each club has won four of the eight meetings, but there is a big difference in the way the two starting pitchers have performed in this series in their careers. Cards right-hander Jake Westbrook is 3-1 with a respectable 3.83 ERA and 1.36 WHIP in eight starts against the Reds, while Cincinnati righty Homer Bailey is just 2-6 (team is 2-8) with a bloated 5.72 ERA and 1.53 WHIP in 10 starts versus St. Louis. These numbers include when the two faced each other on April 9, with Westbrook not allowing an earned run in seven strong innings and Bailey serving up three longballs in a 7-1 Cardinals win. Westbrook (7-7, 3.75 ERA, 1.33 WHIP) has pitched very well in his past six outings, throwing five quality starts. He’s gone 3-2 with a 2.95 ERA and 1.13 WHIP in this span, compiling three times as many strikeouts (21) as walks (7). Westbrook has also been quite effective away from home. He’s just 3-4, getting a total of five runs of support in the four defeats, but has a 2.94 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and .232 opponents’ BA in these eight road starts. Westbrook has controlled many of the Reds big bats over the years, including Joey Votto (1-for-9), Jay Bruce (3-for-12), Drew Stubbs (0-for-6) and Ryan Ludwick (2-for-8), who hit a walk-off homer to win Saturday’s game. However, Westbrook might want to pitch around Brandon Phillips (7-for-17) and especially Chris Heisey, who is 3-for-8 with three solo homers in his career versus Westbrook. Bailey (7-6, 4.14 ERA, 1.30 WHIP) entered the All-Star Break with two sterling performances, both on the road. He beat both the Dodgers and Padres, posting a 2.45 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 15 strikeouts and one walk in these 14.2 innings. However, he has not enjoyed pitching at home this season, going 1-4 with a 5.86 ERA and 1.63 WHIP in eight starts in Cincinnati. He’s given up 12 homers in this 43-inning span, and has allowed at least one homer in eight of his past 10 starts overall. This could be a major problem, considering the Cardinals have smacked 50 homers on the road this year, the second-most in the National League. The one thing in Bailey’s favor is that the Reds have a superior bullpen (2.71 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 69% save percentage) to the Cardinals (4.46 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 59% save percentage).
Free Pick: Despite having the better bullpen, the Cards have more than enough edges to take this one. This is really a bad matchup for Homer Bailey, who seems to have always pitched better on the road then at home. In his career Homer is just 15-15 with a 5.22 ERA at home, but on the road he is 17-14 with a 4.20 ERA. This year he is 1-4 with a 5.86 ERA. Homer has also struggled in this series, going 2-6 with a 5.72 ERA in 10 starts vs the Cards. Five St. Louis batters have a career OPS greater than 1.100 in their careers versus Bailey -- John Jay (1.768 OPS in 7 AB), Lance Berkman (1.232 OPS in 9 AB), Matt Holliday (1.228 OPS, 2 HR in 18 AB), David Freese (1.182 OPS, 2 HR in 11 AB) and Yadier Molina (1.178 OPS, 1 HR in 9 AB). Jake Westbrook has not struggled in this series, going 3-1 with a 3.68 ERA in 8 starts vs the Reds. ST Louis lost the first 2 games of this series and stranded 22 runners in the process, but they have a huge edge on the mound and they should be fully motivated to avoid the sweep here.
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Sunday at Pregame.com (Sports Betting Picks- 07/15/2012)
Join host Johnny Detroit to hear about the biggest sports betting picks and best bets from the famous handicappers available for sale at Pregame.com for NBA and College Basketball action on Sunday, July 15, 2012. You will also receive a Free Play courtesy of one of our Handicappers.(College Basketball,NBA,NFL,NHL, MLB,Baseball)