San Francisco Giants at St. Louis Cardinals Betting Preview
Sunday Night Baseball features the rubber match of a three-game series between the San Francisco Giants (20-13) and the St. Louis Cardinals (18-15). St. Louis will host this one at Busch Stadium, with first pitch scheduled for 7:08 pm ET.
After San Francisco took Friday’s contest 8-2, the Cardinals bounced back with a 4-0 shutout on Saturday. In the win, Cardinals’ starter Dakota Hudson was solid, going five scoreless innings and allowing just five hits.
Offensively, Tommy Edman hit his fourth home run of the season, and both Nolan Arenado and Yadier Molina had two hits apiece.
Despite taking the loss, Giants’ starter Jakob Junis threw well. He went 5.2 innings, allowing just two runs on six hits.
San Francisco just could not consistently get anything going on offense. While LaMonte Wade and Brandon Belt had two hits each from the top two spots in the order, the rest of the lineup only managed four more hits on the day.
The Giants are slight favorites Sunday night despite playing on the road. They are -146 to win while the Cardinals’ moneyline sits at +124. The runline features St. Louis +1.5 (-154), and the over/under for total runs is seven.
Giants Have To Stay Sharp In Loaded NL West
Without a doubt, the NL West appears to be the most leaded division in all of baseball. Despite being just one of five teams in the NL with at least 20 wins, they sit in third in their division, a game behind the L.A. Dodgers.
In what will likely be a tight division all season long, every win will be crucial down the stretch. For that reason, San Francisco would love to secure a series win on Sunday on the road, where they are 9-6 thus far this season.
On the mound for the Giants will be ace Carlos Rodon. He has been sensational since signing with San Francisco this offseason. In six starts, he is 4-1 with a 1.80 ERA and 0.91 WHIP, and he has 53 strikeouts in 35 innings of work.
He picked up the win in his last outing against Colorado. In six innings, he gave up two earned runs on six hits while striking out 12.
Offensively, Wilmer Flores has had a nice season thus far. In 105 at bats, he is hitting .267/.336/.410 with three home runs and a team-leading 19 runs batted in.
Shortstop Brandon Crawford has had some success against the Cardinals’ Adam Wainwright in his career. In fact, in 36 at bats, he is hitting .250 with six runs batted in.
Cardinals Look To Stay Above .500 At Home
At 18-15, the Cardinals currently sit 2.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for first in the NL Central. On Sunday, they will look to stay above .500 at Busch Stadium, where they are just 9-8 to this point this season.
To secure the series win, they will look to veteran Adam Wainwright to get the job done on the mound. He is 3-3 this season with a 3.18 ERA and 1.29 WHIP, and he has 28 strikeouts in 34 innings pitched.
Wainwright was phenomenal in his last outing against the Royals. He picked up the win after going seven innings, allowing just one hit and no earned runs.
Third baseman Nolan Arenado continues to lead the offensive attack. He is currently hitting .311/.370/.582 with a team-leading seven home runs and 27 runs batted in.
Tommy Edman is also having a nice season. He is hitting .276/.368/.440 with four home runs, 17 runs batted in, 22 runs scored, and eight stolen bases. In his career against Rodon, Edman has one hit in three at bats, but the one hit was a solo home run.
Giants/Cardinals Betting Preview
Health has always been the biggest obstacle to Carlos Rodon’s dominance. At least in the early going, he has been both healthy and dominant for the Giants.
With a 1.80 ERA and a 4-1 record, it is hard to bet against the Giants anytime Rodon takes the mound.
Granted, they are just 3-9 in their last 12 games at Busch Stadium, but in a game where you are only as good as your next day’s starter, the Giants have the edge on paper in this one.
That is no slight to Wainwright but rather an acknowledgment of how brilliant Rodon has been. Until he proves otherwise, the value is in the Giants with Rodon on the mound.
Take the Giants to win straight up (-146).
