In the second of a three-game series between the Philadelphia Phillies (23-46) and the St. Louis Cardinals (23-46) at Citizens Bank Park, Aaron Harang (4-8, 3.24 ERA) and John Lackey (5-4, 3.59 ERA) get the start. The Cardinals won the last game 12-4 and St. Louis leads the series 1-0. The game gets underway at 7:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jun. 20 and will air on FSN-MW and TCN-PHI.
Harang has a 4.39 ERA and a 7-16 record in his career against the Cardinals, and is up against a solid St. Louis offense that’s hitting .263 on the year. Ryan Howard (.236, 23 Rs, 13 HRs, 33 RBIs) went 1 for 4 yesterday with one run, one home run, and three RBIs. In his career against the Phillies, Lackey is 2-4 with a 3.46 ERA. He meets a struggling Philadelphia offense that’s batting just .237. Matt Carpenter (.297, 42 Rs, 8 HRs, 33 RBIs, 1 SB) went 1 for 1 yesterday with two runs and one RBI.
Philadelphia is a +161 underdog in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at seven runs. The Phillies have a losing record of 20-40 when playing as the underdog and an overall money line of -1,761. They are 1-9 as the underdog over their last 10 games. Philadelphia has averaged 2.0 runs per game over the last 10 games, lower than its season average of 3.0.
On the other side, the Cardinals have a nice record of 34-13 when they are favored and are +1,720 overall with the money line. The Cardinals are a problem for opposing batters, sporting an NL-low 2.62 ERA this season. They have a WHIP of 1.20, fourth best in the MLB.
The Cardinals are 4-1 against the Phillies this season. The Phillies will take on a right-hander (Lackey) in this game. They have struggled against right-handed starting pitchers this season, going 19-36. Taking the hill against the Cardinals will be the right-hander Harang. Right-handed starters haven’t been a big issue for them as they sport a 36-15 record.
Predictions: SU Winner – STL, O/U – Under
Notes
When the Cardinals play into extra innings, they have a 5-3 record. The Phillies are 2-4 when their games exceed nine innings.
The Cardinals are coming into this meeting after a high-scoring game where they scored an impressive 12 runs. The Phillies have a 0-2 record when opponents score that many runs or more.
When they outhit their opponents, the Phillies are 14-7. The Cardinals have a 31-8 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 30th, Philadelphia is at the bottom of the league in runs, scoring 210 this season. St. Louis ranks near the bottom at 22nd with 267.
Ranking 26th, Philadelphia is near the bottom of the league in walks, notching 153 this season. St. Louis ranks in the top half at 11th with 209.
When the Phillies hit at least one home run, they are 13-17. When the Cardinals hit at least one homer, they have a 27-9 record.
