Phils vie to snap Cardinals’ winning streak
St. Louis has nine of its past 12 games vs. Philadelphia. Last night’s meeting, though, produced a bit more anxiety than usual.
The Cardinals needed Jedd Gyorko’s two-run homer off Jeanmar Gomez in the ninth inning to knot the score at 3-3. Then Randal Grichuk continued his torrid ways at the plate, putting the visitors ahead for good with an RBI double in the 11th. The 4-3 triumph moved Mike Matheny’s club to a MLB-best 37-23 on the road.
This evening, the Cards shoot for their sixth consecutive victory overall. Online sports book BetDSI recommends them as 1.5-run favorites, while the Phillies represent +114 underdogs. The over/under run figure sits at 8.5.
Matheny hopes to have Brandon Moss at his disposal for the second contest of the series. The first baseman/outfielder, who paces the team with 22 homers, missed Friday’s bout due to sickness. If the slugger’s back to full health, he’ll take his cracks against Jeremy Hellickson (9-7, 3.65 ERA). Pete Mackanin’s veteran hurler is 4-1 with a sub-3.00 ERA since June 25. Hellickson left his most recent start in Los Angeles, however, because of back tightness.
On the other side, Luke Weaver (0-0, 4.50) draws just his second big-league assignment. The former first-round selection did a relatively nice job against the Cubs nearly a week ago, but St. Louis would love to get more than four innings from him here. His array of pitches should prove even more effective vs. the free-swinging Phils, whose 997 strikeouts rank sixth-worst in the National League.
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Somewhat oddly, the two squads failed to bust out the lumber until the closing stages of the opener. We don’t anticipate that to be the case again. Bank on a heavy supply of pop at Citizens Bank Park.
SATURDAY MLB FREE PICK: CARDINALS/PHILLIES OVER 8.5 RUNS