Lance Lynn (9-7, 2.95 ERA) and the St. Louis Cardinals (76-42) go up against Mike Leake (9-6, 3.52 ERA) and the San Francisco Giants (64-54) in the second of a three-game series at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals won the last game 2-1 and St. Louis leads the series 1-0. The game starts at 8:15 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Aug. 18 and will air on CSBy and FSMW.
In his most recent outing, Lynn pitched 0.2 inning, giving up three runs (four unearned) and striking out one in a 10-5 loss to the Pirates. Matt Carpenter (.271, 69 Rs, 18 HRs, 62 RBIs, 3 SBs) went 1 for 3 yesterday. The Giants were also unsuccessful the last time Leake pitched. He had a good outing, pitching 6.1 innings, allowing two runs, striking out five and walking two in a 2-1 loss to the Rangers. Brandon Belt (.277, 57 Rs, 17 HRs, 57 RBIs, 7 SBs) went 1 for 4 yesterday.
St. Louis is a -141 favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is seven runs. The Cardinals have a winning record of 63-26 when playing as the favorite and an overall money line of +2,348. They are 7-3 as the favorite over their last 10 games. The Cardinals are fourth in the league in WHIP at 1.20.
Across the field, the Giants have a record of 29-24 when they are the underdog and are +519 overall with the money line. The top road hitting team in the NL are the Giants, who average 9.8 hits in games away from home.
So far this season, the Cardinals are 1-0 against the Giants. This game will feature Leake (RHP) on the mound against the Cardinals, who have a 36-10 home and 58-27 overall record when they take on a right-handed starter. The right-handed Lynn will take the mound against the Giants, who have a 48-43 record against righty starters this season.
Predictions: SU Winner – StL, O/U – Over
Notes
San Francisco has won 61% (28-18) of its games when leading after 7 innings. However, St. Louis has won 63% (24-14) of its games when taking a late lead.
Having scored one run in their last game, the Giants are going to have to up their game if they want to win this matchup. The Cardinals have a 37-2 record in games where opponents scored that many runs or fewer.
When they outhit their opponents, the Cardinals are 47-14. The Giants have a 56-9 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 19th in runs, St. Louis has earned 468 this season. San Francisco ranks eighth with 517 runs.
Ranking 19th, San Francisco is in the bottom half of the league in walks, notching 319 this season. St. Louis ranks in the top 10 at seventh with 357.
The Cardinals are 48-20 when they hit at least one home run. The Giants perform similarly when they hit one or more homers with a 43-23 record.
