John Lackey (0-0, 6.00 ERA) and Mike Fiers (0-1, 9.00 ERA) are on the hill in the last of a three-game series between the St. Louis Cardinals (4-3) and the Milwaukee Brewers (2-6) at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals won the last game 4-2 and the series is currently tied 1-1. Action begins at 1:45 p.m. ET on Thursday, Apr. 16 and can be seen on FSN-WI, FSN-MW and MLB Netwo.
Lackey pitched 6.0 innings in his most recent start, surrendering four runs, striking out one and walking two in a 5-4 defeat to the Reds. Matt Carpenter (.345 ) had a good game yesterday, going 2 for 4 with one run and one RBI. When pitching against the Cardinals, Fiers is 2-1 with a 1.30 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, and 22 strikeouts. Jean Segura (.333 ) has been successful at the plate to the start the season, going 2 for 4 yesterday.
St. Louis is a -143 favorite against Milwaukee and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at seven runs. The Cardinals have an overall money line of +18 and a record as the favorite of 2-2. The Cardinals are one of the best in the NL in terms of hits with an impressive 8.6 per game. Crossing over to the pitching staff, opposing offenses have been stifled by the Cardinals, who have a team ERA of only 2.43. The Cardinals are the fourth-best team in the league at limiting hits and walks to their opponents, recording a WHIP of 1.03 so far this season.
In games where it is the underdog, Milwaukee has a 1-1 record and an overall money line of -483. They are 1-1 as the underdog against teams in their division, and 2-3 SU. Offensively, the Brewers have really picked up the pace in division games. They have exceeded their season average of 2.9 runs per game by averaging 3.4 in those contests. The Brewers are tough outs for opponents, ranking third in the NL with 9.0 hits per road game. Milwaukee is excellent at not striking out on the road with an NL-low 6.0 per game. The Brewers average 5.5 runs allowed per game, but does better whenever another team from the NL Central is on the schedule. They bring that runs allowed average down to 4.8 against division foes.
The Cardinals have a 3-3 record against right-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Fiers takes the mound. Lackey (RHP) will be on the hill against the Brewers, who have a 2-5 record against right-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – STL, O/U – Over
Notes
St. Louis is 16-4 SU in its last 20 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of St. Louis’s last 13 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of St. Louis’s last 5 games when playing Milwaukee.
The total has gone OVER in 12 of St. Louis’s last 18 games when playing Milwaukee.
St. Louis is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games when playing Milwaukee.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of St. Louis’s last 6 games when playing at home against Milwaukee.
St. Louis is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Milwaukee.
Milwaukee is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against St. Louis.
The Cardinals hold a 4-3 record this season against teams in the NL Central Division. The Brewers’ record in these matchups is 2-3.
When the Cardinals play into extra innings, they have a 1-0 record. The Brewers are 0-1 when their games exceed nine innings.
The Brewers are coming into this game after allowing one walk during their last outing. The Cardinals have a 2-0 record when opponents give up that many walks or fewer.
When they outhit their opponents, the Cardinals are 2-3. The Brewers have a 1-0 record when outhitting opponents.
St. Louis and Milwaukee both rank near the bottom of the league in runs. St. Louis sits at 24th with 26 runs this season and Milwaukee ranks 27th with 23.
Ranking 26th, Milwaukee is near the bottom of the league in walks, notching 17 this season. St. Louis ranks in the bottom half at 20th with 24.
When the Cardinals hit at least one home run, they are 2-1. When the Brewers hit at least one homer, they have a 1-2 record.
