Zack Greinke (1-2, 5.25 ERA) and Jaime Garcia (1-1, 2.70 ERA) take the hill in the first of a four-game series between the Arizona Diamondbacks (10-10) and the St. Louis Cardinals (10-8) at Chase Field. Action begins at 9:40 p.m. ET on Monday, Apr. 25 and can be seen on FSAZ and FSMW.
Greinke pitched 6.2 innings in his most recent start, surrendering one run, striking out seven and walking one in a 2-1 win over the Giants. Paul Goldschmidt (.261, 11 Rs, 5 HRs, 15 RBIs, 1 SB) had another good game yesterday, going 2 for 4 with three runs, two home runs, and three RBIs. Garcia went 5.0 innings, surrendering two runs, striking out seven and walking four in a 2-1 defeat to the Cubs in his last outing. Aledmys Diaz (.480, 13 Rs, 3 HRs, 11 RBIs, 1 SB) has been successful at the plate to start the season for the Cardinals, going 3 for 5 yesterday with one run, one home run, one RBI, and one stolen base.
The odds for Arizona and St. Louis are even, while the Over/Under (O/U) is unavailable as of now. The Diamondbacks have no trouble scoring as they rank third in the NL in home offense with 5.7 runs per game. The Diamondbacks are one of the best in the NL in terms of hits at home with an impressive 10.0 per game. Arizona is one of the best in the MLB in terms of steals, swiping 16 bases. Arizona’s pitching staff has been doing better against opposing offenses during the last 10 games, only allowing an average of 0.0 runs per game, well under their season average of 0.0.
Offensively, they average 0.0 runs per game, which is good for second in the NL. The Cardinals capitalize on their at-bats at a high percentage, ranking .276 in the league with a .276 team batting average. St. Louis is excellent at drawing walks with 3.8 per game, ranking fourth in the NL. The Cardinals allow 0.0 runs per game, but have improved upon those numbers in the past 10 games, allowing 0.0 runs per game during that span.
Predictions: SU Winner – STL
Notes
Arizona has won 36% (4-7) of its games when leading after seven innings. However, St. Louis has won 62% (5-3) of its games when taking a late lead.
The Cardinals are coming off of a hot pitching game where they recorded 10 strikeouts. The Diamondbacks have a record of 0-4 when they are struck out that many times or more.
When they outhit their opponents, the Diamondbacks are 7-1. The Cardinals have an 8-1 record when outhitting opponents.
Both falling in the top five of the league based on total runs this season, Arizona ranks fifth with 97 runs and St. Louis is second with 111.
Ranking 12th, Arizona is in the top half of the league in walks, notching 58 this season. St. Louis ranks in the top 10 at sixth with 68.
The Diamondbacks are 8-7 in games where they hit one or more home runs. The Cardinals are 8-5 when they hit at least one homer.
