St. Louis Cardinals vs. Chicago Cubs
The St.Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs wrap up their 5-game weekend series on Sunday night. The Cardinals are chasing the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central and have moved within striking distance in recent games. The Cubs are in the midst of a rebuild and are in 4th place in the NL Central, well out of first place. The pitching matchup on Sunday will feature ageless righty Adam Wainwright (5-4, 2.75) taking on lefty Justin Steele (1-5, 5.40) of the Cubs. First pitch on ESPN is scheduled for 7pm EST.
Cardinals on the Prowl
The Cardinals have been slowed by their arch-rivals at a time when they could have gained valuable ground vs. the scuffling first-place Brewers. Traveling to Chicago fresh off of a split of a four-game series against Milwaukee and then a sweep of the Padres, both in St. Louis, the Cards were upended 7-5 in the series opener on Thursday. They rebounded with a 14-5 win prior to Saturday’s doubleheader. In game 1, the Cardinals bats were held in check by rookie Matt Swarmer in a 6-1 loss. In game 2 on Saturday night, Brendan Donovan went 3-for-5 with 4 RBI and his second 2-run double of the game in the 10th sealed the deal for the Cards, who scored four runs in the 10th in total.
St. Louis is winning this year with a balance of veteran savvy and an influx of youth. The Cardinals have been able to dip into their farm system for key pieces to supplement the talents of veterans like Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt, and Sunday’s start Adam Wainwright. Wainwright, the 41-year-old Cardinal-lifer, continues to defy Father Time as he comes into this game with a 5-4 ERA and an impressive 2.75 ERA. In his last outing, Wainwright lasted 7 innings and allowed just two hits and no runs while striking out 10 in a no-decision against the Padres. Wainwright has pitched 7 innings in two out of his last three starts and has allowed just 7 earned runs total in his last five starts.
Cubs Still Competing
The Chicago Cubs may be in the middle of a rebuild but they remain as feisty as ever, particularly against long-time rival St.Louis. The Cubs went through a three-game losing streak recently only to rebound with three-straight wins, two against 1st place Milwaukee and the third in the opener of this series. St.Louis thumped Chicago 14-5 in game 2 of the series but a rookie pitcher helped the Cubs make it two out of three vs. the Cards. In just his second big league start, Matt Swarmer allowed two hits and one earned run in six innings, striking out six and walking two. He’s now allowed just two earned runs in 12 innings of work against the Brewers and Cardinals, the top two teams in the division. In game two of the doubleheader, the Cubs battled back from a 3-1 deficit to tie the game but a 4-run Cardinals’ 10th inning spelled their doom as they split the day-night doubleheader.
The Cubs have competed in a season that they lacked quality starting pitching and a major bat in the lineup. The Cubs rank just 29th in baseball in quality starts this season with just 9. At the plate, the Cubs fail to have anyone hitting .300 on the season. Despite that, the Cubs are a respectable 12th in runs scored this season and 16th in slugging percentage. On the mound on Sunday will be struggling left-hander Justin Steele. Steele has just one quality start out of 10 this season and has allowed 10 earned runs in his last two starts, totaling 7 innings. He has failed to last at least five innings in five of his ten starts this season. Steele does have 46 strikeouts, which leads the team and he is averaging 10.3 Ks per 9 innings.
Justin Steele has been a subpar starter thus far this season and will be facing a Cardinals lineup loaded with big-time right-handed bats. Arenado, Goldschmidt and even Albert Pujols should all get good at bats against the vulnerable left-hander. The Cards are batting .272 against left-handed pitching this season with 32 extra-base hits. Expect more of the same on Sunday night. As for the Cubs, they will be facing a pitcher in Wainwright that has battled the Cubs over 50 times in his career. He is coming off one of his best performances of the season and has been pitching like an ace again over the last five starts. Wainwright will get deep into this game and turn it over to the Cardinals bullpen to close it out.
Take St.Louis with the money line.
Prediction: St.Louis -141
New York Mets vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
The New York Mets face an uphill battle when closing out their ensuing four-game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday. They’re getting lit up at the plate by Los Angeles’ pitching, and they gave up six runs in Game 2 on Friday. The floodgates have flung open on the Mets, and they’re desperately trying to keep them closed. They’re hopeful Trevor Williams can help avoid another loss in the series when he starts at pitcher opposite of Dodgers’ lefty Julio Urias.
Rude awakening for the Mets
The Mets have started out strong this season, but they’ve also clearly run into a brick wall in their road series with the Dodgers. Their offense has looked completely flat in the first two games with the team scoring a combined one run. How can you beat the No. 1-ranked scoring offense in baseball with only one run in two games?
Spoiler alert—you can’t do it!
The Mets are going to have to get something going at the plate against the Dodgers. Their inability to do so thus far (as of Saturday evening) is a bit surprising considering they’re averaging the second-most hits (8.98) and third-most runs (5.11) per game.
If New York is ever going to get over the hump and be taken seriously as a contender, they’re going to have to beat the elite teams like the Dodgers on the road.
Trevor Williams is slated to start for the Mets in Sunday’s game. Most of his struggling has come on the road so far this season, and he’ll be coming face-to-face with one of the more explosive batting lineups he’ll see all year. How will he handle himself with a 0-3 record and 5.02 ERA on the road, when playing in front of thousands of Dodgers fans?
The answer to that question will tell a lot about the Mets’ chances in this matchup.
Can Urias avoid another loss?
The Dodgers have lost their last two consecutive games with Julio Urias starting on the mound. He got pounded by the Pittsburgh Pirates in his last outing, and the Washington Nationals beat the Dodgers in his start prior to that in a loss that wasn’t his fault.
Sunday’s game against the Mets will be another tough challenge for the 25-year-old lefty. It was smooth sailing against New York in the first two games, but they’re clearly capable of flipping the script and exploding at the plate.
Urias is throwing a 2.89 ERA with a 3-5 record and 1.11 WHIP. He was completely dominant in his one meeting with the Mets last season by holding them to no earned runs and only two hits in five innings. However, things have obviously changed since last year’s team, which averaged the fourth-least runs per game.
As long as Urias doesn’t dig himself a hole, the offense for the Dodgers should handle the rest. They have a lot of firepower at the plate against a Mets team clearly struggling on the road.
Trevor Williams pitching at opposing stadiums has been a recipe for disaster.
He’s winless in these situations with a 5.02 ERA. And he isn’t playing against just any road team on Sunday. He’ll be facing the road team with the second-most wins in the entire National League. The Dodgers have a murderer’s row batting lineup, and they’re going to make life miserable at the plate for Williams.
Even if the relievers step up and handle their business in this matchup, the damage will already be done in the early innings.
Speaking of damage, the Dodgers are doing all sorts of damage against the Mets defensively. They’ve held them to only one run in the first two games combined. That isn’t even half of the number of runs New York is averaging this season.
As usual, the Dodgers are tough to beat at home, and the Mets haven’t shown the growth to knock them out in a road series. Los Angeles will keep on rolling in this one.
Prediction: Los Angeles Dodgers (-1.5)
Boston Red Sox vs. Oakland Athletics
A pair of teams from the American League conclude a series out on the west coast in Oaktown. The Boston Red Sox are on the road as they finish up a three-game series with the Oakland A’s Sunday afternoon. In the opening game of the series Friday night, it was the Red Sox earning a 7-2 victory to ensure a shot at winning the series no matter how things play out Saturday. Will Boston continue their upward trend or will the A’s find a way to get the victory on getaway day for a rare home victory? This article was published prior to the conclusion of the middle game of the series Saturday at the RingCentral Coliseum.
Boston Red Sox Hoping to Climb Toward .500
Boston won their second straight game as they hit their way past the A’s to take the opener of this series. The Red Sox entered Saturday fourth in the AL East, 12.5 games behind the Yankees for the top spot in the division race. Against Oakland Friday, Boston got two hits each from Enrique Hernandez, Trevor Story (two RBI) and Xander Bogaerts (run, three RBI) in the win. Bogaerts hit his sixth homer of the season in the victory. Nathan Eovaldi (3-2) earned the win on the mound as he threw six scoreless innings, allowing four hits with one walk and eight strikeouts before turning things over to the bullpen.
Rich Hill is on the hill as he makes his 10th start of the season for the Red Sox in this contest. He comes in 1-3 with a 4.85 ERA, a 1.282 WHIP, 11 walks and 29 strikeouts over 39 innings of work this season. Hill took the loss in his previous start, which came Monday at home against Baltimore. He threw four innings, allowing six runs on seven hits with two walks and five strikeouts in a game the Red Sox dropped by a 10-0 count. In his last three starts, Hill is 0-2 with a 9.82 ERA, a 1.73 WHIP, four walks and eight strikeouts over 11 innings of work. Hill makes his 9th career appearance and fifth start against the A’s in this contest. He comes in 1-2 with a 3.00 ERA, a 1.048 WHIP, 13 walks and 25 strikeouts over 21 innings against them. Hill is 3-4 with a 3.45 ERA, a 1.286 WHIP, 25 walks and 46 strikeouts over 44.1 innings in 12 career appearances, 10 starts, at the RingCentral Coliseum.
Oakland A’s Trying to Earn Rare Home Victory
Oakland lost their fourth straight and their seventh in the last eight games as they were drubbed soundly by Boston. The A’s entered Saturday last in the AL West, 15 games behind the Astros for the top spot in the division. In Friday’s contest, Oakland finished with six hits with Jed Lowrie (two RBI) the lone player with two. The A’s went two of nine with runners in scoring position in the loss. James Kaprielian (0-3) took the loss on the mound as he was roughed up for four runs on five hits with two walks and one strikeout in 5.1 innings. The bullpen sputtered in the ninth, giving up three runs after the A’s closed to within 4-2.
Frankie Montas is on the hill for his 12th start of the season for the A’s in this contest. He comes in 2-5 with a 3.20 ERA, a 0.99 WHIP, 15 walks and 71 strikeouts over 64.2 innings of work this season. Montas took the loss in his last start, which came Tuesday at home against Houston. He threw seven innings, allowing two runs on seven hits with no walks and five strikeouts in a game the A’s dropped 3-1. In his last three starts, Montas is 0-1 with a 1.72 ERA, a 0.89 WHIP, two walks and 18 strikeouts over 15.2 innings of work. Montas makes his fifth career appearance and third start against the Red Sox in this contest. He comes in 0-1 with a 1.98 ERA, a 1.61 WHIP, six walks and 13 strikeouts over 13.2 innings of work against them. Montas is 17-14 with a 3.41 ERA, a 1.196 WHIP, 77 walks and 291 strikeouts over 266.2 innings over 55 career appearances, 42 starts, at the RingCentral Coliseum.
Oakland’s inability to put runs on the board, especially at home, has been a major issue for them when it comes to putting games in the win column. The A’s wasted a stellar outing in Montas’ last outing as they fell to the Astros and they now have to deal with a Boston lineup that is capable of putting up big offensive numbers on any given night. We saw that on Friday night when the Red Sox put seven on the board en route to the victory. Hill hasn’t been great this season but he does have experience pitching here and is backed by a superior lineup. The Red Sox bats should be enough to carry a mediocre pitching effort and put this in the win column.
Prediction: Boston Red Sox +105
