Last Updated on July 15, 2016 9:41 am by Brad Burns
Cardinals begin huge homestand vs. Marlins
In recent seasons, the Cardinals sent players to the All-Star Game left and right. This week’s surprising lack of St. Louis delegates in San Diego could work out quite well, though, for the NL Central’s second-place squad.
Refreshed and ready to kick off the second half of the season, Mike Matheny’s club hosts Miami tonight. Oddsmakers at online sports book BetDSI lean toward the Cards, whereas the Marlins are considered +136 underdogs. The over/under run total holds steady at eight.
Shortstop Aledmys Diaz was the lone Redbird to appear in Tuesday’s Midsummer Classic. Past selections such as outfielder Matt Holliday and Yadier Molina were therefore able to recalibrate and prepare for this evening’s showdown with Wei-Yin Chen (5-3, 4.83 ERA). Don Mattingly’s lefty, who’s coming off a 5-2 victory July 5 at Citi Field, encounters St. Louis for the first time.
Matheny responds with a dangerous southpaw of his own. Jaime Garcia (6-6, 4.01) positively dominated the Fish in 2015, going 2-0 with a 0.59 ERA in two meetings. Most recently, the 30-year-old took a no-decision vs. Pittsburgh.
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The Cardinals desperately need to reverse an awful run at Busch Stadium. In fact, only three teams in the senior circuit – Atlanta, Cincinnati and Arizona – carry worse home records. What better way to clean up the mess than with a series opener against a rising group from the NL East? The perennial contenders even miss out on Jose Fernandez for the weekend, so it’s imperative to bear down.
FRIDAY MLB FREE PICK: CARDINALS -1.5