Jaime Garcia (3-4, 1.98 ERA) starts for the St. Louis Cardinals (70-39) as they square off against Wily Peralta (2-6, 4.55 ERA) and the Milwaukee Brewers (47-64) in the second of a three-game series at Miller Park. The Cardinals won the last game 6-0 and St. Louis leads the series 1-0. Action begins at 6:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, Aug. 8 and can be seen on FS1.
Peralta pitched 3.1 innings in his most recent start, surrendering six runs, striking out two and walking three in a 13-5 defeat to the Padres. Gerardo Parra (.323, 59 Rs, 9 HRs, 31 RBIs, 9 SBs) continued his strong play yesterday, going 2 for 5 with one run. Garcia went 5.0 innings, surrendering one run, striking out four and walking four in a 3-2 defeat to the Rockies in his last outing. Matt Carpenter (.266, 64 Rs, 15 HRs, 56 RBIs, 3 SBs) has been successful at the plate, going 2 for 4 yesterday with one run and one RBI.
St. Louis takes on Milwaukee as a -127 favorite. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is sitting at seven runs. The Brewers have an overall money line of -1,648 and a record as the underdog of 27-40. Milwaukee has gone winless (0-4) as the underdog and 3-7 SU in its last 10 outings. Milwaukee’s pitchers put it all together when division rivals are on the field. Its average runs allowed per game drops to 3.9 against fellow NL Central members, compared to its 4.4 season average. Opponents have consistently been struck out by the Brewers, who rank fifth in the NL in strikeouts per home game with 8.5.
As for their opponent, St. Louis is coming in with an overall money line of +2,305 and an impressive record of 58-23 as the favorite. They have been playing solid baseball as favorite with a 23-8 record against fellow NL Central members, and a 29-16 record SU. The Cardinals are tough outs for opponents, ranking fifth in the NL with 8.7 hits per game. St. Louis’s pitching staff has set the standard for its league, with an NL-low 2.64 ERA. When it comes to preventing batters from getting on base, the Cardinals are one of the best in the league with a WHIP of 1.20 for the season. The Cardinals have established a reputation of overwhelming hitters with an NL-best 8.4 strikeouts per road game, making them one of the top five teams in the league.
The Cardinals have controlled the season series, 7-3. The Brewers have a 13-11 record against left-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Garcia takes the mound. Peralta (RHP) will be on the hill against the Cardinals, who have a very good 55-25 record against right-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – StL, O/U – Over
Notes
After last game’s shutout win against the Milwaukee, the Cardinals now have 12 shutouts this season. The Brewers have been shut out in 13 games this season.
Having scored zero runs in their last game, the Brewers are going to have to up their game if they want to win this matchup. The Cardinals have a 12-0 record in games where opponents scored that many runs.
When they are outhit, the Brewers are 8-50. The Cardinals have a 19-25 record when opponents outhit them.
St. Louis ranks near the bottom of the league at 22nd when it comes to home runs, hitting 89 this season. Milwaukee ranks in the bottom half at 18th with 96.
Ranking ninth, Milwaukee is in the top 10 of the league in hits, notching 8.51 per game. St. Louis ranks in the top five at fifth with 8.67.
Ranking 21st, Milwaukee is near the bottom of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.699). St. Louis ranks in the top half at 12th with an OPS of .714.
The Cardinals are 28-27 in games where they allow one or more home runs. The Brewers are 26-44 when they allow at least one homer.
