Cards tab Wainwright to save series vs. Pirates
One of baseball’s premier prospects toes the major-league rubber for the first time this afternoon, as the Pirates and Cardinals complete a four-game set.
Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle will send Tyler Glasnow to the hill at roughly 1:45 p.m. ET, while host St. Louis counters with ace Adam Wainwright. Oddsmakers at online sports book Bovada.lv like the Redbirds to salvage the series finale. The visiting squad, on the other hand, enters as a +131 underdog.
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Last night, the Cards suffered more than just their 26th home loss of the campaign. Not only did Mike Matheny’s group tumble out of second place in the National League Central Division, it witnessed MVP candidate Matt Carpenter go down with a right oblique injury on a half-swing in the third inning. The club’s lone All-Star received an MRI immediately after the 7-5 loss. He’s batting .298 with 14 homers and 53 RBIs from the leadoff spot.
Kolten Wong would seem to be the likely choice to hit atop the order in the interim, but neither he nor anyone else truly knows what to expect vs. Glasnow. The Buccos’ prized 22-year-old went 7-2 with a 1.78 ERA at Triple-A Indianapolis. He struck out 113 across 96 frames, too, which probably isn’t good news for St. Louis’ free-swinging modus operandi.
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Wainwright, of course, must take it upon himself to serve as the stopper here. He twirled seven scoreless innings to vanquish Milwaukee over the weekend, improving to 7-2 since April 27. With the Cards suddenly in danger of falling into the also-ran category, look for No. 50 to muster a similarly stellar outing in a few hours.
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