Colin Rea (2-0, 4.22 ERA) and Michael Wacha (14-4, 2.85 ERA) take the hill in the last of a three-game series between the San Diego Padres (61-62) and the St. Louis Cardinals (77-45) at Petco Park. The Padres won the last game 8-0, continuing a five-game winning streak. Action begins at 4:10 p.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 23 and can be seen on FSMW and FSSD.
Rea pitched 5.2 innings in his last outing, surrendering two runs, striking out four and walking one in a 5-3 win over the Braves. Justin Upton (.257, 66 Rs, 20 HRs, 67 RBIs, 18 SBs) had another good game yesterday, going 2 for 5 with one run and two RBIs. Wacha went 7.0 innings, surrendering one run, striking out six and walking one in a 2-1 defeat to the Giants in his most recent start.
St. Louis takes on San Diego as a -140 favorite. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is sitting at seven runs. The Padres have an overall money line of -417 and a record as the underdog of 28-38. The Padres have seen an uptick in scoring as of late, averaging 5.8 runs during the last 10 games compared to their season average of 4.0 runs per game. The Padres are one of the best in the MLB in terms of extra base hits with 331. Turning to the pitchers, the Padres are the fifth-best team in the NL at limiting hits during home games, allowing only 8.4 hits per game to their opponents this season. Opponents have consistently been struck out by the Padres, who rank second in the NL in strikeouts per home game with 8.9.
Over in the other dugout, St. Louis is coming in with an overall money line of +2,289 and an impressive record of 65-28 as the favorite. St. Louis is excellent at drawing walks with 2.9 per road game, ranking fifth in the NL. 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 hits, the Cardinals are second in the NL with an average of 8.2 hits allowed per game. The Cardinals have established a reputation of overwhelming hitters with an NL-best 8.1 strikeouts per game, making them one of the top five teams in the league.
The Padres lead the season series, 4-2. The Padres have a 46-50 record against right-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Wacha takes the mound. Rea (RHP) will be on the hill against the Cardinals, who have a very good 60-29 record against right-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – StL, O/U – Over
Notes
When leading after 7 innings, St. Louis is 24-17, while San Diego is 32-26.
Having scored zero runs in their last game, the Cardinals are going to have to up their game if they want to win this matchup. The Padres have a 4-0 record in games where opponents scored that many runs.
When they are outhit, the Padres are 9-45. The Cardinals have a 19-30 record when opponents outhit them.
Ranking 24th in home runs, St. Louis has hit 100 this season. San Diego ranks 18th with 111 home runs.
Ranking 13th, San Diego is in the top half of the league in hits, notching 8.24 per game. St. Louis ranks in the top 10 at seventh with 8.58.
Ranking 29th, San Diego is near the bottom of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.685). St. Louis ranks in the bottom half at 18th with an OPS of .709.
The Cardinals are 31-30 in games where they allow one or more home runs. The Padres are 33-43 when they allow at least one homer.
