On Friday, the St. Louis Cardinals are set to start a three game weekend series at the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Cardinals and Diamondbacks are both off to slow starts this season. St. Louis is 6-7 on the season. They are coming off a 3-3 home stand, which saw them lose the final two out of three to Philadelphia.
Arizona is also 6-7 on the season. The defending National League Champions have won back to back games. They beat the Rockies on Wednesday to win the road series in Denver.
The Arizona Diamondbacks are -120 over the Cardinals on Friday.
Slow Starting Cardinals
The Cardinals have started out of the gates slow again. This is a team that finished last in the National League Central a season ago. The Cardinals are hitting just .219 as a team. St. Louis is scoring just 3.8 runs per game. Masyn Winn is hitting .314 for the Cardinals so far. Their pitching has been fine, as they are tied for 9th, allowing 4.2 runs per game.
Steven Matz will get the nod for the St. Louis Cardinals in this game. Matz, a left-hander, is 1-0 on the season with a 1.74 earned run average. Matz won his last start over Miami, with five innings pitched and just four hits allowed.
St. Louis will head to Oakland for a three game series after this. Next week, the Brewers come to town for three, and then the Diamondbacks for three. After that, the Cardinals are back on the road to New York and Detroit.
High Powered Arizona Offense
The Arizona offense has carried them so far this season. Arizona is scoring 5.7 runs per game. The Diamondbacks are hitting .266 on the season, and have 15 home runs. The top threats have been Lourdes Gurriel, Ketel Marte and Christian Walker. They all have three home runs on the season.
Brandon Pfaadt will get the nod for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Pfaadt was able to make a start in the World Series a season ago. The 25 year old is 1-0 on the season, with a 5.06 earned run average. In 10.2 innings, he has struck out 13 batters, and given up one home runs.
Arizona will host the Chicago Cubs next week for three games, before they head out on the road to San Francisco for four games and then a rematch against these Cardinals in St. Louis for three.
Cardinals Top Diamondbacks on Friday
The St. Louis Cardinals are back on the road, and going to start it well. Arizona is a good place for the bats to get going. St. Louis has not hit real well to start the season. The Cardinals get to Pfaadt, and the Arizona bullpen.
Matz throws well in this game, and the Cardinals win. Our final betting pick for this game is the St. Louis Cardinals +100 over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Enjoy the game and best of luck with all your Major League Baseball betting!
