Cardinals, Mets square off in rubber game
Stephen Piscotty has pinballed around the Cardinals’ batting order for the better part of the season. His production, though, remains unshakable.
The second-year right fielder pounded his 19th homer of the campaign on Wednesday, leading St. Louis to an 8-1 rout of the Mets. Mike Matheny’s club matched a season high with 19 hits and pushed its NL-leading dinger total to 178. The Redbirds also remained 1 ½ games ahead of Miami for the National League’s second wild-card spot.
They can pad that lead even further with a victory in tonight’s series finale. Online sports book BetDSI recommends the Cards as 1.5-run favorites, whereas New York represents a +155 underdog. The over/under run total sits at 8.5.
Fading in the race and falling victim to a slew of injuries, Terry Collins’ squad turns to Seth Lugo (0-2, 3.04 ERA) for a lifeline this evening. The righty made his first MLB start last week, twirling 6 2/3 innings of three-run ball vs. the Giants. Lugo allowed seven hits and walked a batter to go along with three strikeouts.
For the host team, Adam Wainwright (9-7, 4.71) hopes to reverse a history of woes against the Mets. The veteran ace is just 3-4 with a 5.17 ERA in 10 career meetings with the franchise. He’s enduring a pretty brutal August, too, having gone 0-2 with a 1.84 WHIP so far this month.
MLB Quick Links: Scores & Matchups | Injuries | Odds Comparison | Betting Trends | ATS Stats
Perhaps the streaking Piscotty, however, can give the righty all the support he needs. The Stanford product is hitting at a .360 clip over the past five contests. Look for him to victimize Lugo a time or two as well, resulting in rubber-match success for the Cardinals.
THURSDAY MLB FREE PICK: CARDINALS -1.5