MLB Baseball

2009-08-27 - Houston Astros at St Louis Cardinals

A Sports Betting Pick by BetOnline

MLB Betting – Carpenter To Build Case For Cy Young Against Astros

Houston Astros @ St. Louis Cardinals
Brian Moehler vs Chris Carpenter
Baseball: United States, MLB
Thursday, 27th August 2009 - Start 27/08/09 2:15pm ET

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The UFC 102 fight card is the headline act in the sporting world this week but the baseball card will keep us busy until the weekend.

On Thursday, the St. Louis Cardinals will try to build their case – and record – to become the best team in the National League and their ace, Chris Carpenter, will try to build his case for the National League Cy Young.

Houston Astros
(61-65 overall - 26-35 Road - 5-5 Last Ten)

Houston sports fans are already looking at the NFL odds.

The Astros are four games below .500 and are 12 games back of the NL Central-leading Cardinals, which pretty much renders their season over.

Brian Moehler (8-9) will take the hill for Houston and he has been a mediocre starter at best. Many bettors might even say that he shouldn’t even be starting at all.

Moehler has an ERA of 5.29 on the year, which is a little high even for a back-end rotation starter. He’s gone through months where that number comes down, such as in July, where he had a 3.47 ERA, but this month his ERA is up at 6.23.

He’s had trouble keeping runners off base this month, posting a WHIP of 1.79. He’s also lost three of his last four decisions.

St Louis Cardinals
(74-54 Overall - 38-24 Home - 8-2 Last Ten)

Chris Carpenter (14-3), on the other hand, is the NL leader in ERA with a sparkling 2.16.

Carpenter has been even better at home this year, if you can believe it, posting a 7-1 record with a 1.74 ERA with both of his complete games coming at Busch Stadium.

In two starts against the Astros this year, Carpenter is 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA and a WHIP of 1.13.

Carpenter has obviously announced himself as a Cy Young candidate and should have an easy time of things on Thursday.

Last Night

St Louis edged out the Astros 3-2, after jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the first innings.

The Betting Verdict

Given the huge pitching discrepancy and the difference in teams, take the Cardinals on Thursday night.

The Cards are the better team all around, they have their ace on the mound and they are at home.

Not many baseball picks will side with the Astros on Thursday given this one-sided matchup - and we won't either.

The Pick :