Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Wrigley Field in Chicago

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On Wednesday night, veteran John Lackey (3-2) will try to end his September struggles when he and the St. Louis Cardinals go up against Chicago Cubs right-hander Jake Arrieta (9-5).

John Lackey picked up the win over the Cincinnati Reds last week after pitching 7.2 strong innings in the game. He gave up just one run on six hits in that outing while striking out five batters and walking zero. Lackey currently has a 3.86 ERA on the year and he has only walked 43 batters in 191.1 innings of work.

Cubs third baseman Luis Valbuena has three hits in his eight at-bats against Lackey with a double, a home run and two RBI. Rookie Javier Baez is hitless in four at-bats against the veteran with no walks and two strikeouts.

Last Tuesday, Jake Arrieta pitched a one-hit shutout against the Cincinnati Reds and picked up his ninth win of the year in the process. He only walked one in that game and he was also able to strike out a season-high 13 batters. Arrieta lowered his ERA to 2.65 with that win and he has only given up 6.7 hits per nine innings this season.

Cardinals veteran Jhonny Peralta has five hits in 13 at-bats against Arrieta with two doubles and an RBI. Matt Carpenter is hitless in nine at-bats against the right-hander with three walks and two strikeouts.

St. Louis Cardinals Betting Trends

St. Louis Cardinals are 71-79-6 against the Over/Under

Run Differential for St. Louis Cardinals is 0.1

Chicago Cubs Betting Trends

Chicago Cubs are 80-69-7 against the Over/Under

Run differential for Chicago Cubs is -0.6

Injuries to Watch

St. Louis Cardinals

09/19/14 P Shelby Miller Ankle "?" for next start
08/26/14 RF Shane Robinson Shoulder 60-day DL (8/25); out for season
07/06/14 P Jaime Garcia Shoulder 60-day DL (6/24), out for season
05/13/14 P Tyler Lyons Shoulder 15-day DL (5/12)

Chicago Cubs

09/03/14 SS Starlin Castro Ankle out for season
08/30/14 CF Justin Ruggiano Ankle 60-day DL (8/23), out for season
08/28/14 RF Ryan Sweeney Hamstring 60-day DL (8/26)
08/10/14 P Brian Schlitter Shoulder 15-day DL (8/9)
03/31/14 P James McDonald Shoulder 60-day DL (2/23)

Guy's Pick: Take Chicago

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