Michael Wacha (10-3, 2.77 ERA) gets the ball for the St. Louis Cardinals (51-27) as they go up against Andrew Cashner (3-9, 4.22 ERA) and the San Diego Padres (38-43) in the second of a four-game series at Busch Stadium. The Padres won the last game 5-3 and San Diego leads the series 1-0. The game gets underway at 8:15 p.m. ET on Friday, Jul. 3 and will air on FSN-SD and FSN-MW.
In his most recent outing, Wacha pitched 6.0 innings, allowing one run, striking out five and walking two in an 8-1 victory over the Cubs. Jhonny Peralta (.301, 34 Rs, 11 HRs, 41 RBIs, 1 SB) played well again yesterday, going 2 for 6. In his pitching opportunities against the Cardinals, Cashner is 0-1 with a 3.68 ERA. He meets a strong St. Louis offense that’s batting .262.
St. Louis, a -164 favorite, will look to capitalize at home against San Diego. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is set at six runs. The Cardinals have a winning record of 42-15 when playing as the favorite and an overall money line of +2,084. Over the last 10 games, they have a very good record when playing as the favorite (7-2). The Cardinals rank second in the NL in hits at home with 9.0 per game. They have been very patient at the plate, ranking fifth in the NL with an average of 3.0 walks per game. Turning to the pitching staff, the Cardinals lead the NL in ERA with a 2.64 team average. The Cardinals are third in the NL in hits allowed with just 8.2 per game. The have been extremely effective at striking opposing batters out, averaging 8.1 strikeouts per game.
Across the field, the Padres have a subpar record of 16-25 when they are the underdog and are -591 overall with the money line.
The only other game between the two teams went San Diego’s way. The Cardinals will take on a right-hander (Cashner) in this game. They have done very well against right-handed starting pitchers this season (44-15), especially at home where they have a 26-4 record. The right-handed Wacha will take the mound against the Padres, who have a 28-35 record against righty starters this season.
Predictions: SU Winner – STL, O/U – Over
Notes
When leading after 7 innings, St. Louis is 21-8, while San Diego is 20-17.
The Cardinals managed to give up six walks in their last game. They’ll have to pick it up against the Padres who are coming in with a 6-1 record against opponents who give up that many walks or more.
When they are outhit, the Padres are 7-34. The Cardinals have a 12-18 record when opponents outhit them.
St. Louis ranks near the bottom of the league at 25th when it comes to home runs, hitting 62 this season. San Diego ranks in the bottom half at 18th with 68.
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 five at fifth with 8.92.
Ranking 26th, San Diego is near the bottom of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.669). St. Louis ranks in the top 10 at ninth with an OPS of .726.
When the Padres allow at least one home run, they are 19-31. When the Cardinals allow one or more homers, they have a 22-19 record.
