Lance Lynn (5-4, 2.74 ERA) is on the hill for the St. Louis Cardinals (52-28) as they square off against Ian Kennedy (4-7, 4.86 ERA) and the San Diego Padres (39-44) in the last of a four-game series at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals won the last game 2-1 and San Diego leads the series 2-1. Action begins at 2:15 p.m. ET on Sunday, Jul. 5 and can be seen on FSN-SD and FSN-MW.
Lynn pitched 6.0 innings in his last outing, surrendering one run, striking out six and walking one in a 2-1 defeat to the White Sox. Jhonny Peralta (.301, 34 Rs, 11 HRs, 42 RBIs, 1 SB) went 1 for 3 yesterday with one RBI. Kennedy is 2-4 with a 9.00 ERA when pitching against the Cardinals. He takes on a good St. Louis offense which is hitting .260 this season. Justin Upton (.262, 44 Rs, 14 HRs, 46 RBIs, 16 SBs) went 1 for 4 yesterday.
St. Louis is a -168 favorite against San Diego and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at seven runs. The Cardinals have recorded an overall money line of +1,826 and have shown high-level performance as a favorite this season with a record of 42-17. The Cardinals are one of the best in the NL in terms of hits at home with an impressive 8.9 per game. St. Louis is one of the best in the NL in terms of walks, earning an average of 3.1 per game. Turning to the pitchers, opposing offenses have been stifled by the Cardinals, who have a team ERA of only 2.64. The Cardinals are the third-best team in the NL at limiting hits to their opponents, allowing only 8.2 hits per game so far this season. Opponents have consistently been struck out by the Cardinals, who rank fifth in the NL in strikeouts per game with 8.2.
In games where it is the underdog, San Diego has a 18-25 record and an overall money line of -353.
The Padres lead the season series, 2-1. The Cardinals have a great 26-6 record at home (44-17 overall) against right-handed starting pitchers, which is what they’ll be facing when Kennedy takes the mound. Lynn (RHP) will be on the hill against the Padres, who have a 29-35 record against right-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – STL, O/U – Over
Notes
When leading after 7 innings, St. Louis is 21-9, while San Diego is 21-17.
The Cardinals are coming into this game after allowing two walks during their last outing. The Padres have a 20-30 record when opponents give up that many walks or fewer.
When they are outhit, the Padres are 7-34. The Cardinals have a 13-19 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 17th with 70.
Ranking 14th, San Diego is in the top half of the league in hits, notching 8.23 per game. St. Louis ranks in the top five at fifth with 8.86.
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 half at 13th with an OPS of .719.
The Padres are 19-31 in games where they allow one or more home runs. The Cardinals are 23-20 when they allow at least one homer.
