In the third of a four-game series between the St. Louis Cardinals (13-6) and the Philadelphia Phillies (13-6) at Busch Stadium, Carlos Martinez (2-0, 1.35 ERA) and Aaron Harang (2-1, 1.37 ERA) get the ball. The Cardinals won the last game 11-5 and the series is currently tied 1-1. The game starts at 8:15 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Apr. 29 and will air on CSN-PHI and FSN-MW.
Martinez is 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA against the Phillies in his career, and faces a less-than-stellar Philadelphia offense that’s hitting just .222 on the year. Matt Carpenter (.380, 17 Rs, 3 HRs, 12 RBIs) continued his strong season yesterday, going 2 for 4 with two runs and one RBI. In his career against the Cardinals, Harang is 7-15 with a 4.27 ERA. He meets a solid St. Louis offense that’s batting .269. Freddy Galvis (.368, 9 Rs, 1 HR, 8 RBIs) has been hitting the ball well for the Phillies, going 3 for 4 yesterday with two runs.
St. Louis is a -170 favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at seven runs. The Cardinals have a winning record of 9-4 when playing as the favorite and an overall money line of +478. Over the last 10 games, they have a very good record when playing as the favorite (6-2). The Cardinals lead the NL in ERA with a 2.34 team average. The Cardinals are fifth in the league in WHIP at 1.10.
Moving on to the away team, the Phillies come into this game with a win percentage of .412 when playing as the underdog (7-10) and an overall money line of -252. The Phillies average just 6.6 strikeouts per road game, one of the lowest marks in the NL.
The Cardinals will take on a right-hander (Harang) in this game. They have done very well against right-handed starting pitchers this season (11-4), especially at home where they have a 5-1 record. Taking the hill against the Phillies will be the right-hander Martinez. They sport a 6-11 record against righties.
Predictions: SU Winner – STL, O/U – Under
Notes
Philadelphia has won 46% (6-7) of its games when leading after 7 innings. However, St. Louis has won 62% (5-3) of its games when taking a late lead.
The Cardinals are coming into this game after allowing two walks during their last outing. The Phillies have a 4-9 record when opponents give up that many walks or fewer.
When they are outhit, the Phillies are 3-11. The Cardinals have a 2-1 record when opponents outhit them.
Both falling near the bottom of the league based on total home runs this season, St. Louis ranks 22nd with 13 homers and Philadelphia is 26th with 11.
Ranking 14th, Philadelphia is in the top half of the league in hits, notching 7.15 per game. St. Louis ranks in the top five at fourth with 8.89.
Ranking 30th, Philadelphia is at the bottom of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.603). St. Louis ranks in the top 10 at 10th with an OPS of .731.
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.
