The St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins are set to start a four-game series in South Florida on Monday. The Marlins come into the game fresh off a three-game sweep at the hands of the first-place Atlanta Braves. The losing streak has them at 48-37 on the season, and 9 games back of the Braves. Miami is 25-16 at home this season.
St. Louis is in last place in the National League Central. The Cardinals are 35-48 following their 3-3 home stand against the Astros and Yankees. St. Louis is 18-23 when playing on the road this season.
Miami is the favorite in this one at -116. The total is listed at 8 runs.
Visiting Cardinals Seeking a Hot Streak
The St. Louis Cardinals have been seeking a hot streak all season long. Just when they start to play good baseball, they start to struggle again. The Cardinals in their last three losses have allowed 10 runs per game. In their three most recent wins, the Cardinals allowed 7 total runs.
St. Louis is anchored offensively by Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado. Goldschmidt leads the team with a .289 batting average, along with Arenado’s 16 homeruns and 54 runs batted in. St. Louis is 12th in Major League Baseball in runs, and 13th in batting average, with a .251.
Miles Mikolas will get the start for St. Louis. The veteran has been pretty up and down this season, and sits with a 4-5 record, and a 4.44 earned run average. The 34-year-old from Jupiter, Florida, is coming off an outing on June 28th against the Astros, where he allowed 7 hits and 5 runs, leaving the game with the lead. The Cardinals eventually lost the game.
Marlins Happy to Be Back Home
Braxton Garrett gets the nod for the Miami Marlins. Garrett has thrown 81.2 innings this season, and struck out 92 batters. During that time, he’s only issued 15 walks. On the season, Garrett is 4-2 with a 3.53 earned run average. His last time out, he allowed 3 hits, and a single run over 5 innings, picking up the win over the Red Sox in Boston.
The Marlins are winning games with timely hitting, and decent pitching. The starting pitching has been okay, with 25 quality starts, but overall, the earned run average is 13th, at 4.04, and 9th in WHIP, with a 1.25.
Offensively, the Marlins are led by Luis Arraez. The National League leader in hitting is at .389 heading into this series. Jorge Soler is the power supply leader, as he has crushed 22 home runs, and drove in a team-high 47 runs.
Cardinals Keep Marlins in Struggles
Miles Mikolas heading back home is going to be solid for him. The Marlins are not a great hitting team, so Mikolas if he can keep the ball where he wants it, should be in good shape. Look for timely hitting from St. Louis to win their second straight game, and start the series with a win. The Marlins struggles continue. Bet the Cardinals as the underdog. Take St. Louis -102 over Miami.
