It will be a National League matchup of the NL East versus NL Central on Monday as the Philadelphia Phillies (10-11) square off with the St. Louis Cardinals (11-10) in the first of a four-game series. St. Louis will host this one at Busch Stadium, with first pitch scheduled for 7:45 pm ET.
The Phillies are coming off a series loss over the weekend to the Colorado Rockies. Colorado took two out of three, including pounding the Phillies 12-2 on Sunday. In the loss, Bryce Harper accounted for both Phillies runs with two solo home runs.
The Cardinals had a considerably better weekend. They swept the Cincinnati Reds over three games.
In their 5-2 win on Sunday, rookie Dylan Carlson went 3-for-4, while Tyler O’Neill hit two home runs.
This game is seemingly a pick ’em game. Both teams’ moneyline sit at -108. Still, the Cardinals are +1.5 on the run line, and the over/under for total runs is eight.
Pitching Matchup
The Philadelphia Phillies will be sending Zack Wheeler (1-2, 3.80 ERA) to the mound Monday. In his last game, a 10-7 loss to the Giants, Wheeler went just under six innings, allowing four runs and striking out six. Of concern, he gave up three home runs in the contest.
The Cardinals will counter with veteran righty Adam Wainwright (0-2, 5.03 ERA). He took a no-decision in his last outing after going seven innings of one-run ball and striking out 10 against the Washington Nationals.
By The Numbers
The Cardinals have been the stronger of the two teams offensively. They currently rank 12th, averaging 4.60 runs per game. The Phillies are 20th, averaging 4.05.
Defensively, it is the Phillies that have the edge. They rank 13th in runs allowed per game at 4.30. The Cardinals rank 19th, allowing 4.55 runs per game.
Phillies Hoping To Keep Pace In NL East
Coming into play Monday, the Phillies sit just a single game out of first in the NL East. In a loaded division where only two games separate first and last, the Phillies know every game is important.
Leading the way offensively for the Phillies is Harper. He is currently hitting .338/.471/.662 with six home runs, 10 runs batted in and has 16 walks versus 16 strikeouts.
Harper has also had success against Wainwright in his career. He is 5-for-8 with a home run and four runs batted in against the righty.
Andrew McCutchen has also homered against Wainwright and is batting .286 in 21 at-bats.
Cardinals Hope To Stay Hot
Like the Phillies, the Cardinals currently sit in second in the NL Central, two games behind the Milwaukee Brewers. Still, having swept the Reds over the weekend, the Cardinals will look to stay hot as they host the Phillies.
Paul DeJong has gotten off to a nice start from a power standpoint. While he is hitting just .183/.301/.394, he is tied for the team lead in home runs (five) and has 10 runs batted in.
DeJong has also had success against Wheeler in his career. He is 3-for-6 with two home runs and three runs batted in.
Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado are also a combined 4-for-9 against Wheeler, but no Cardinals player has more than eight at-bats in their careers against the righty.
Taking The Cardinals On The Run Line
This one is a tough one. Both pitchers have the ability to control a game, but neither has been especially dominant to start the season.
Especially playing at home and on a bit of a roll, the Cardinals are probably the smart play here. At very worst, taking them on the run line at +1.5 seems like a strong bet.
