Philadelphia Phillies vs. St. Louis Cardinals
7:05 PM, Monday July 19 ESPN
FREE Expert MLB Picks
Pitching Probables: Kyle Kendrick vs. Blake Hawksworth
If the Phillies are not careful they are going to run out of time to right the ship. The only thing positive from their 1-3 trip to the Windy City was that Ryan Howard seems to have rediscovered his power stroke, hitting 4 homers in the friendly confines of Wrigley Field. Now he heads to home to St. Louis where he has a nifty 1.282 OPS in his career – I wouldn’t want to be Blake Hawksworth, except for the fact that he has a really cool baseball name. Unfortunately the rest of the team is in a huge funk. Injuries have hurt for sure but what has really hurt is that Jimmy Rollins and Jayson Werth are both hitting under .200 this month. With so little offense their middle of the road ERA just isn’t cutting it. Kendrick has been a pleasant surprise with 2 quality starts before the All-Star Break. He had a relief appearance last Thursday which may seem odd but the last time he pitched from the pen he came back with 7 innings of 4 hit ball so maybe it helps him a bit mentally.
The Cardinals are riding high. They just swept the Dodgers and have grabbed the lead in the NL Central over surprising Cincinnati. Despite big names in the lineup like Pujols and Holliday this team is all about pitching – they are second in the majors in ERA. The trio of Adam Wainright, Chris Carpenter and Jaime Garcia have been phenomenal but the other two spots in the rotation have been erratic. Hawksworth goes tonight but he walks too many batters for his own good. He has never started against Philly but is generally sharper at home. The vaunted Phillies lineup is looking to join Ryan Howard in busting out. If Hawksworth can keep them in the ballpark then the Cardinals have a good chance to continue the run they are on.
Prediction: Philadelphia seems due for a bustout (I think I have said that 31 times this year) and sorry Blake, you seem like a good candidate. Look for Ryan Howard to go yard and be joined by a couple of friends.
Score Prediction:
Philadelphia Phillies – 9
St. Louis Cardinals – 4
The odds makers have the Cardinals –1-½ – favorites with a run total of 9.
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Philadelphia Phillies Betting Trends:
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Philadelphia’s last 6 games
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Philadelphia’s last 6 games on the road
- Philadelphia is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games on the road
- The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Philadelphia’s last 15 games when playing St. Louis
St. Louis Cardinals Betting Trends:
- St. Louis is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of St. Louis’s last 6 games at home
- St. Louis is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
- St. Louis is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing Philadelphia
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