Game: St. Louis Cardinals @ Boston Red Sox
Time: 7:10 p.m. ET
Odds: Cardinals -105, Red Sox -115
Total: 9.5
Boston started June with a seven-game winning streak and has now won 11 of its last 14 games. They have won three straight series and now begin a weekend series with St. Louis. The Cardinals won their last two series, but they were against Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. Neither of those teams has the kind of lineup the Red Sox do. Plus, the Cardinals have to face Boston pitcher Michael Wacha, a former Cardinal himself.
Wacha is 4-1 on the season with a 2.33 ERA. In his last start, he allowed three earned runs in a no decision against Seattle. In the two starts prior, Wacha didn’t allow a single run. One of those starts was a complete-game shutout of the Angels. Wacha will, however, have to deal with his former teammate Paul Goldschmidt who is having an incredible season thus far.
Goldschmidt leads the NL with a .347 batting average and he’s among the MLB leaders in home runs (16) and RBIs (56). Over the last seven days, Goldschmidt is batting .435 with two doubles, four home runs, and nine RBIs. He will be a tough out for Wacha as will Nolan Arenado who is hitting .271 with 11 homers and 41 RBIs.
The Cardinals will go with Adam Wainwright on the mound. The veteran is 5-4 with a 2.84 ERA. Wainwright has been strong over his last three starts. He has pitched seven innings in each start. He didn’t earn a decision in any of the three, but he only allowed five earned runs and the Cards won each game. In fact, St. Louis has won six of Wainwright’s last seven starts.
Wainwright will face one of the better lineups in baseball. The Red Sox have three hitters batting well over .300. J.D. Martinez hits .351 with eight homers and 28 RBIs. Xander Bogaerts bats .332 (6 HR, 31 RBI) and Rafael Devers may be the most consistent of all three. Devers bats .329 and has 16 homers and 40 RBIs. Devers just had a streak of four straight games with a home run.
As mentioned, Boston is 11-3 SU in its last 14 games. They did blow the series finale against Oakland yesterday losing 4-3. The Red Sox are 5-1 SU the last six times they have hosted St. Louis at Fenway Park. The Cardinals also lost their series finale against Pittsburgh on Wednesday after winning three straight over the Pirates. St. Louis is now 5-2 SU in its last seven games.
Tonight’s total sits at 9.5, which is interesting given the starting pitchers. None of Wainwright’s last five starts have gone Over that total. Two of Wacha’s last three starts ended with totals of 1 and 3. The Red Sox trend Under for the season with a 24-33-7 O/U mark. At home, that record is 12-16-2 and six of their last eight games have resulted in the Under.