Game: New York Yankees @ St. Louis Cardinals
Time: 8:15 p.m. ET
Odds: Yankees -145, Cardinals +125
Total: 8.5
After a day off to travel, the New York Yankees are in St. Louis to take on the Cardinals in a three-game weekend series. The Cardinals are coming off a sweep of the Cubs, which gives St. Louis four straight wins and victories in six of their last seven games. The Cardinals have scored six or more runs in five of their last seven games. Tonight, they might find scoring a bit more difficult as they go up against Yankees left-hander Nestor Cortes.
Cortes has been outstanding all season long. He has compiled a 9-3 record to go along with a 2.53 ERA. In his 19 starts this season, the Yankees have recorded 14 wins. New York has won five of Cortes’ last six starts, including his last two in which he pitched a total of 11 innings and gave up two earned runs. Cortes will have his work cut out for himself though as the Cardinals hit .268 against left-handed pitchers this season.
Cortes will have to battle against the likes of NL MVP candidate Paul Goldschmidt and teammate Nolan Arenado. Goldschmidt is batting .332 and has team-highs of 26 homers and 82 RBIs. Arenado is hitting .293 with 21 home runs and 63 RBIs. Tommy Edman hits .253 and last night in a 7-2 win over the Cubs he went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBIs. The Cardinals have scored 40 runs in their last seven games and are capable of continuing their hot streak.
The Cardinals will start right-hander Dakota Hudson who is 6-6 with a 4.10 ERA. Hudson’s numbers don’t look all that impressive until you look at his home and away splits. Hudson is a much better pitcher at home than on the road. In 51.3 innings at Busch Stadium, Hudson has a 2.98 ERA and a record of 4-2.
He will have his hands full with the top-scoring lineup in baseball. The Yankees have led the majors in scoring most of the season. New York scores 5.35 runs per game and like St. Louis the Yankees have put up some strong numbers lately. The Yankees have scored six or more runs in five of their last six games.
While the Yankees win the majority of the games in which Cortes is the starting pitcher, the Cardinals have not had the same success with Hudson. St. Louis has lost his last four starts in a row and five of his last six. In those last five losses, Hudson has allowed 20 earned runs.
The Cardinals have won seven of their last ten games and their last five straight at home. The Yankees have struggled on the road recently winning just twice in their last nine away games. New York has won five of the last six games it has played against St. Louis. The Cardinals trend Under (48-53-4 O/U) for the season and five of their last seven games have gone Under. The Under is 7-3 in the last 10 Yankees-Cardinals games.