Wainwright may push Cards to sweep of Padres
Prideful MLB players have a habit of enacting revenge on their previous employers, but the damage that Jedd Gyorko continues to inflict on San Diego borders on criminal behavior.
St. Louis’ do-everything infielder smacked three homers yesterday in the home team’s doubleheader sweep of the Padres, giving him six in his past five contests vs. Andy Green’s club. Gyorko intends to stay hot entering tonight’s series finale, with a 7:15 p.m. ET first pitch at Busch Stadium. Oddsmakers at online sports book Bovada.lv favor the Cardinals. The visitors, on the other hand, enter as +185 underdogs.
Last December, general manager A.J. Preller opted to ship Gyorko to the Gateway City. The Morgantown native had spent the first three seasons of his career on the West Coast. Always recognized as a threat in the power department, he’s currently muscling up at a Herculean rate. San Diego’s next victim could well be Andrew Cashner (4-7, 5.05 ERA), who toppled Madison Bumgarner and the NL West-leading Giants nearly a week ago.
Mike Matheny responds by deploying Adam Wainwright (9-5, 4.15). The lanky righty submitted a classic performance over the weekend, twirling a three-hit shutout against Miami. He needed 120 pitches to complete the feat, though, raising questions about how long he can go this evening.
MLB Quick Links: Scores & Matchups | Injuries | Odds Comparison | Betting Trends | ATS Stats
Thankfully for the Cards, Carlos Martinez and Jaime Garcia just turned in exceptional starts. There’s also the fact that the Padres hold a mark of 10-27 at the third version of Busch. Look for Gyorko, Aledmys Diaz (.317/.387/.535) and the rest of the Redbirds to keep slugging all the way to a sweep.
THURSDAY MLB FREE PICK: PADRES/CARDINALS OVER 8.5 RUNS