MLB Baseball
2010-05-17 - Washington Nationals at St. Louis Cardinals
A Sports Betting Pick by Addicted
Baseball : United States : MLB Regular Season
Monday, May 17th 2010 - Start 8:15PM ET
(Tuesday, May 18th - 1:15AM GMT)
The Cardinals have owned the Nationals the past 2 seasons. Does it continue here? Keep reading and all shall be revealed! 'citin', innit?
WASHINGTON NATIONALS(20-18)
The Nats record is almost the same as the Cards, but they come into this match in the middle of a 3 game slump. They lost a double header against the Rockies on Saturday and then got done 2-1 on Sunday to get handed the broom in that series.
Adam Dunn, their leading home run hitter so far, is suffering from flu-like symptoms and may or may not play tonight after missing Sunday's heartbreaking loss. Either way, he's not fit, and so cannot be counted as a big threat.
Craig Stammen will pitch for the Nats tonight, trying to snap a four-start winless skid. Since winning his lone game of 2010 on April 19, Stammen has gone 0-1 with a 4.37 ERA in his next four starts. He received his second straight no-decision on Wednesday after giving up 4 runs on 6 hits and 4 walks over only five innings versus the Mets.
The right-hander is 1-1 with a 5.84 ERA this year and has really struggled badly on the road, going 0-1 with a 12.19 ERA in three starts!! The 26 yr. old has faced the Cards only once before, on Aug. 29 2009, registering a loss after giving up 6 runs (3 earned!) on 4 hits over 4 2/3 innings of work.
And now he faces a very good Cardinals side that has been their bogey team. Albert Pujols is currently hitting .440 with 5 homers in 16 games against the Nats, since 2007. Stammen has his work truly cut out for him.
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS (21-17)
St. Louis have slipped a bit recently, coming into this contest after dropping 2 of the 3 games against Cincinnati. The Reds are now a half game ahead in the division. With the Cardinals having lost 9 of their last 12, so playing the Nationals at home now might be just what the doctor ordered.
As I mentioned earlier, the Cardinals have dominated Washington for the last 2 seasons. They have won 11 of 13 against them and are a perfect 6-0 at home versus the Nats since 2008!
Lohse, the Cardinal on the mound today, has some pretty shocking numbers this season, which is why the price on the home team is high enough to merit a bet. A closer look, however, shows that perhaps he's not doing quite as bad as his stats suggest.
Lohse is 0-3 with a 5.68 ERA this year and has dropped his last five decisions dating back to last season. In all, Lohse has gone 9 starts without a win. On Wednesday he gave up 9 runs on a season-high 10 hits versus Houston. However, 5 of those runs were unearned because of a 4th inning error by shortstop Brendan Ryan.
Now at home at Busch Stadium, Lohse's first victory looks very likely to me, simply because he is a much better pitcher than his recent performances indicate. Indeed, the right hander is 0-2 with a much more tidy 3.60 ERA in four starts at home, compared to 0-1 with a 9.69 ERA in three on the road.
THE BETTING VERDICT
I have flipped a coin, and am going with St. Louis. So there.
The Pick :
Cardinals to win
BEST BETTING TIP :
Take St. Louis Cardinals to win @ 1.65 (Pinnacle) - MAIN BET
