John Lackey (6-4, 3.35 ERA) and Jose Quintana (3-7, 3.95 ERA) start in the second of a two-game series between the St. Louis Cardinals (51-25) and the Chicago White Sox (33-42) at Busch Stadium. The White Sox won the last game 2-1 and Chicago leads the series 1-0. Action begins at 8:15 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Jul. 1 and can be seen on CSN-CHI and FSN-MW.
Lackey is 3-6 with a 3.81 ERA in his appearances against the White Sox, and goes up against a below-average Chicago offense which is batting just .240 this season. Against the Cardinals, Quintana is 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA, 1.88 WHIP, and four strikeouts. Jose Abreu (.293, 43 Rs, 13 HRs, 42 RBIs) has been successful at the plate for the White Sox, going 2 for 5 yesterday with one RBI.
St. Louis is a -155 favorite against Chicago and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at seven runs. The Cardinals have recorded an overall money line of +2,334 and have shown high-level performance as a favorite this season with a record of 42-14. St. Louis is an impressive 8-2 as the favorite over its last 10 games. The Cardinals have seen an uptick in scoring as of late, averaging 5.5 runs during the last 10 games compared to their season average of 4.1 runs per game. The Cardinals are one of the best in the NL in terms of hits with a phenomenal 9.0 per game. Turning to the pitchers, opposing offenses have been stifled by the Cardinals, who have a team ERA of only 2.61. The Cardinals are the second-best team in the NL at limiting hits to their opponents, allowing only 8.2 hits per game so far this season.
As for their opponent, Chicago is coming in with an overall money line of -1,283 and a disappointing record of 13-27 as the underdog. They played poorly as the underdog over their last 10 games with a 1-4 record, and a 4-6 record SU.
The White Sox have the edge in the season series, 1-0. The Cardinals have a 7-9 record against left-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Quintana takes the mound. Lackey (RHP) will be on the hill against the White Sox, who have a 27-32 record against right-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – STL, O/U – Over
Notes
Chicago has won 50% (14-14) of its games when leading after 7 innings. However, St. Louis has won 72% (21-8) of its games when taking a late lead.
Having scored one run in their last game, the Cardinals are going to have to up their game if they want to win this matchup. The White Sox have a 7-1 record in games where opponents scored that many runs or fewer.
When they are outhit, the White Sox are 7-33. The Cardinals have a 12-17 record when opponents outhit them.
Both falling near the bottom of the league based on total home runs this season, St. Louis ranks 25th with 62 homers and Chicago is 28th with 55.
Ranking 12th, Chicago is in the top half of the league in hits, notching 8.15 per game. St. Louis ranks in the top five at fourth with 8.96.
Ranking 30th, Chicago is at the bottom of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.649). St. Louis ranks in the top 10 at 10th with an OPS of .730.
The White Sox are 18-29 in games where they allow one or more home runs. The Cardinals are 22-17 when they allow at least one homer.
