In the first of a four-game series between the St. Louis Cardinals (12-5) and the Philadelphia Phillies (12-5) at Busch Stadium, John Lackey (1-0, 4.34 ERA) and Cole Hamels (0-2, 3.75 ERA) take the mound. The game starts at 8:15 p.m. ET on Monday, Apr. 27 and will air on TCN-PHI and FSN-MW.
Lackey is 2-3 with a 3.38 ERA against the Phillies in his career, and is up against a less-than-stellar Philadelphia offense that’s hitting just .214 on the year. Matt Holliday (.358, 7 Rs, 1 HR, 10 RBIs, 2 SBs) went 1 for 4 yesterday with one run, one home run, and three RBIs. In his career against the Cardinals, Hamels is 2-4 with a 3.25 ERA. He gets a strong St. Louis offense that’s batting .265. Freddy Galvis (.361, 6 Rs, 1 HR, 8 RBIs) has been hitting the ball well for the Phillies, going 3 for 3 yesterday with two runs.
St. Louis, a -133 favorite, will look to capitalize at home against Philadelphia. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is six runs. The Cardinals perform well as a favorite with a 9-2 record and have an overall money line of +742. They are 9-1 SU and perfect as the favorite (8-0) in their last 10 games. The Cardinals come into the game with the NL’s fourth-ranked home scoring offense, averaging 4.2 runs per game in their own ballpark. The Cardinals rank fifth in the NL in hits at home with 8.5 per game. Don’t expect the St. Louis hitters to swing wildly in their own ballpark. They average an NL-low 5.0 strikeouts per home game. St. Louis’s pitching staff can be considered for best in its league, with an NL-low 1.99 team ERA. The Cardinals are second in the league in WHIP at 1.08.
Moving on to the away team, the Phillies come into this game with a weak win percentage of .375 when playing as the underdog (6-10) and an overall money line of -484. Opposing pitchers have routinely struggled to strike out the Philadelphia batters, who rank fourth in the NL with 7.3 strikeouts per road game.
The right-handed Lackey will take the mound against the Phillies, who have a 4-11 record against righty starters this season.
Predictions: SU Winner – STL, O/U – Under
Notes
Philadelphia has won 45% (5-6) of its games when leading after 7 innings. However, St. Louis has won 67% (4-2) of its games when taking a late lead.
The Cardinals are coming into this game after allowing one walk during their last outing. The Phillies have a 0-3 record when opponents give up that many walks or fewer.
When they are outhit, the Phillies are 3-10. The Cardinals have a 2-0 record when opponents outhit them.
Ranking 26th in home runs, Philadelphia has hit 11 this season. St. Louis ranks 20th with 13 home runs.
Ranking 15th, Philadelphia is in the top half of the league in hits, notching 7.00 per game. St. Louis ranks in the top five at fourth with 8.88.
Ranking 30th, Philadelphia is at the bottom of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.594). St. Louis ranks in the top half at 11th with an OPS of .724.
When the Phillies allow at least one home run, they are 5-8. When the Cardinals allow one or more homers, they have a 4-3 record.
