Jaime Garcia (5-4, 1.57 ERA) gets the ball for the St. Louis Cardinals (76-43) as they meet Matt Cain (2-3, 6.05 ERA) and the San Francisco Giants (65-54) in the last of a three-game series at Busch Stadium. The Giants won the last game 2-0 and the series is currently tied 1-1. The game gets underway at 7:15 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Aug. 19 and will air on CSBy and FSMW.
In his most recent outing, Garcia pitched 8.1 innings, giving up zero runs (one unearned), striking out six and walking one in a 3-1 victory over the Marlins. The Giants were unsuccessful the last time Cain pitched. He struggled, going 4.2 innings, allowing five runs, striking out three and walking one in an 8-5 loss to the Nationals. Brandon Crawford (.269, 57 Rs, 19 HRs, 74 RBIs, 4 SBs) went 1 for 3 yesterday with one RBI.
St. Louis, a -154 favorite, will look to capitalize at home against San Francisco. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is seven runs. The Cardinals have a winning record of 64-26 when playing as the favorite and an overall money line of +2,448. Over the last 10 games, they have a very good record when playing as the favorite (7-3). The Cardinals are fourth in the league in WHIP at 1.20.
On the other side, the Giants have a record of 29-25 when they are the underdog and are +419 overall with the money line. San Francisco is the top road hitting team in the NL with an average of 9.7 hits per contest.
The Cardinals will take on a right-hander (Cain) in this game. They have done very well against right-handed starting pitchers this season (59-27), especially at home where they have a 37-10 record. Taking the hill against the Giants will be the left-hander Garcia. They sport a 16-10 record against southpaws.
Predictions: SU Winner – StL, O/U – Over
Notes
When leading after 7 innings, San Francisco is 29-18, while St. Louis is 24-15.
The Giants are coming into this game after allowing two walks during their last outing. The Cardinals have a 33-18 record when opponents give up that many walks or fewer.
When they outhit their opponents, the Cardinals are 47-14. The Giants have a 57-9 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 21st in runs, St. Louis has earned 468 this season. San Francisco ranks ninth with 519 runs.
Ranking 19th, San Francisco is in the bottom half of the league in walks, notching 325 this season. St. Louis ranks in the top half at 11th with 359.
When the Cardinals hit at least one home run, they are 48-20, well-matched with the Giants who are 43-23 when hitting one or more homers.
