Ben Burns
St Louis Cardinals at Kansas City Royals
Prediction: Under
The Cardinals had eight runs in by the third inning of last night's game, finishing with 10. However, I believe that this afternoon's match-up will look a lot more like a "pitchers duel" than a "slugfest."
It's Chris Carpenter for St Louis and Brian Bannister for Kansas City. It's a tale of two comeback players and it's absolutely one worth buying into here. Carpenter has fought through injury issues to return as the Cardinals ace. He is 4-1 this season with an outstanding 1.59 ERA and a 1.69 BAA. Carpenter is arguably one of the toughest pitchers for any major league hitter to face right now. His stuff has so much "nastiness" to it and it's really kept the opposition off balance. The Royals haven't seen him since 2006 so that's also an edge for the hurler.
Speaking of big edges for pitchers, Bannister appears to be "back" for the Royals. After going 12-9 with a 3.87 ERA in 2007, he struggled through a poor 2008. However, Bannister is back in '07 form now as he's already 5-3 this season with a respectable 4.10 ERA and opponents are only hitting .265 against him. At home Bannister is 3-1 with a 3.66 ERA and a .242 BAA.
Note that Bannister beat the Cards (3-2 final) last month at St. Louis and that he allowed just four hits and one unearned run through eight innings in his last start, an 'under' vs. Cueto last Sunday.
Also, before last night's "outburst," the Cards had been held to four runs or less in 12 of their last 15 games. Before last night's 'over,' the Cardinals had gone over just twice, while staying UNDER six times so far this season in interleague action.
As for the Royals, they are a big home dog here. That's worth mentioning as the last three seasons, as a home dog in the +125 to +175 range, the Royals have seen the UNDER go a profitable 35-14. With the o/u line having climbed from 7.5 up to eight at many shops, I feel that the UNDER is worth consideration.
St Louis Cardinals at Kansas City Royals
Prediction: Under
The Cardinals had eight runs in by the third inning of last night's game, finishing with 10. However, I believe that this afternoon's match-up will look a lot more like a "pitchers duel" than a "slugfest."
It's Chris Carpenter for St Louis and Brian Bannister for Kansas City. It's a tale of two comeback players and it's absolutely one worth buying into here. Carpenter has fought through injury issues to return as the Cardinals ace. He is 4-1 this season with an outstanding 1.59 ERA and a 1.69 BAA. Carpenter is arguably one of the toughest pitchers for any major league hitter to face right now. His stuff has so much "nastiness" to it and it's really kept the opposition off balance. The Royals haven't seen him since 2006 so that's also an edge for the hurler.
Speaking of big edges for pitchers, Bannister appears to be "back" for the Royals. After going 12-9 with a 3.87 ERA in 2007, he struggled through a poor 2008. However, Bannister is back in '07 form now as he's already 5-3 this season with a respectable 4.10 ERA and opponents are only hitting .265 against him. At home Bannister is 3-1 with a 3.66 ERA and a .242 BAA.
Note that Bannister beat the Cards (3-2 final) last month at St. Louis and that he allowed just four hits and one unearned run through eight innings in his last start, an 'under' vs. Cueto last Sunday.
Also, before last night's "outburst," the Cards had been held to four runs or less in 12 of their last 15 games. Before last night's 'over,' the Cardinals had gone over just twice, while staying UNDER six times so far this season in interleague action.
As for the Royals, they are a big home dog here. That's worth mentioning as the last three seasons, as a home dog in the +125 to +175 range, the Royals have seen the UNDER go a profitable 35-14. With the o/u line having climbed from 7.5 up to eight at many shops, I feel that the UNDER is worth consideration.
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