The St. Louis Cardinals are hosting the Houston Astros this weekend at Busch Stadium in what might be the best series in baseball. Both teams have been on an absolute tear of late, and they both look like playoff teams this season. This is also a chance for these old school NL Central rivals to rekindle this rivalry that was one of the best in baseball at the start of the century.
Houston has built up a 7.5-game lead in the American League West Division with a solid run of late. The Astros have won seven of their last eight games to improve to 66-38 on the season. St. Louis has won eight of its last nine games and now sits tied atop the National League Central Division with the Chicago Cubs. The Cardinals bring a 55-47 record into this game after completing a four-game sweep over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Houston Astros are a -115 road favorite in the series opener on Friday night.
Cardinals Need More From Flaherty
If the Cardinals are going to stay atop the Central Division, they are going to need more from Jack Flaherty. Flaherty was considered to be a potential ace of the Cardinals staff but hasn’t won a game in over two months. The young right-hander is just 4-6 with a 4.24 earned run average this season, despite having all of the necessary tools to be a solid starter.
Paul Goldschmidt has been on an absolute tear of late for the Cardinals and has homered in four straight games. The first baseman now leads the Cardinals with 22 home runs and has the ability to carry an offense for a long stretch of time. Shortstop Paul DeJong was an All-Star this season and is also getting hot at the right time. St. Louis has the ability to score right along with the Astros.
Astros Have a Powerful Offense
The Houston Astros have scored almost 60 more runs than the St. Louis Cardinals and are hitting an impressive .270 as a team. Outfielder Michael Brantley leads the team with a .326 batting average and is having a monster first year in Houston. All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman has blasted 26 home runs this season and has turned into one of the top hitters in the American League. Houston can score runs in a hurry and should have a big night.
Jose Urquidy will take the mound for the Astros on Friday night, and he is coming off of the best start of his young career. The right-hander is just 1-0 with a whopping 5.54 earned run average but showed off his skills last weekend. Urquidy pitched seven strong innings in earning a win over the Texas Rangers, allowing just two hits and one earned run. The Astros are hoping that Urquidy can pitch well enough to be a solid back-end of the rotation starter.
Houston Wins Series Opener
This is a series featuring two of the hottest teams in baseball, and all of the games should be extremely close. Neither team will be sending their top pitchers to the mound in this game, and there should be a ton of runs scored. A high-scoring affair favors the Astros, and they will win on Friday night. Bet the Houston Astros -115 over the St. Louis Cardinals in the series opener.
