Bob Harvey
St. Louis Cardinals (-113)
Thu Sep 25 '08 2:15p
It’s an old sports cliché but I’ll use it again. The Arizona Diamondbacks are TOAST. As in “Put a fork in them, they’re done”. After winning Monday’s series opener at Busch Stadium the D-Backs have lost two straight. Coupled with the Dodgers back-to-back wins, Arizona is now one loss away or an LA victory away from being eliminated from playoff contention. The Snakes will look to stay alive when they send Doug Davis to the mound in the series finale against the Cardinals. Davis is 6-8 with a 3.25 ERA but hasn’t factored in the decision in his last four starts. Lifetime vs. the Redbirds, Davis is 4-5 with a 4.79 ERA in 13 starts against St. Louis and allowed three runs in six innings of a 4-3 win over Cardinals on Sept. 3. Davis is a cancer survivor. He pitched only weeks AFTER having surgery earlier this season. I always pull for a guy like that. However his team is running on fumes and facing the reality that they need to win out and have the Dodgers lose all four. Neither one of those things will happen. St. Louis rested three starters last night: Albert Pujols, Ryan Ludwick and Troy Glaus. All three will be back in today’s line-up. Pujols, hitting .350 is batting .323 (10-for-31) with five doubles, two home runs and nine RBIs against Davis. Joel Pinero has lost two straight but has pitched well. The Cardinals are playing for pride and with their rested starters back in the line-up; I say this is where Arizona’s road comes to an end. IF the Cardinals win, as expected, go against the Dodgers tonight. LA will be resting their regulars especially against Jake Peavy.
St. Louis Cardinals (-113)
Thu Sep 25 '08 2:15p
It’s an old sports cliché but I’ll use it again. The Arizona Diamondbacks are TOAST. As in “Put a fork in them, they’re done”. After winning Monday’s series opener at Busch Stadium the D-Backs have lost two straight. Coupled with the Dodgers back-to-back wins, Arizona is now one loss away or an LA victory away from being eliminated from playoff contention. The Snakes will look to stay alive when they send Doug Davis to the mound in the series finale against the Cardinals. Davis is 6-8 with a 3.25 ERA but hasn’t factored in the decision in his last four starts. Lifetime vs. the Redbirds, Davis is 4-5 with a 4.79 ERA in 13 starts against St. Louis and allowed three runs in six innings of a 4-3 win over Cardinals on Sept. 3. Davis is a cancer survivor. He pitched only weeks AFTER having surgery earlier this season. I always pull for a guy like that. However his team is running on fumes and facing the reality that they need to win out and have the Dodgers lose all four. Neither one of those things will happen. St. Louis rested three starters last night: Albert Pujols, Ryan Ludwick and Troy Glaus. All three will be back in today’s line-up. Pujols, hitting .350 is batting .323 (10-for-31) with five doubles, two home runs and nine RBIs against Davis. Joel Pinero has lost two straight but has pitched well. The Cardinals are playing for pride and with their rested starters back in the line-up; I say this is where Arizona’s road comes to an end. IF the Cardinals win, as expected, go against the Dodgers tonight. LA will be resting their regulars especially against Jake Peavy.
