Thursday, June 18, 2015

Target Field

For Updated Odds on This Game Click Here

Probable Pitchers: Jaime Garcia (2-3) vs. Mike Pelfrey (5-3)

The St. Louis Cardinals visit Target Field on Thursday to play the Minnesota Twins. The Cardinals send Jaime Garcia to the mound to face Mike Pelfrey of the Twins. The opening line for this matchup has St. Louis at -130 and Minnesota at +120. The over/under was set at 8. The Cardinals have a 22-40 over/under record and a 36-28 run line mark, meaning they cover 56% of the time. The Twins are 39-25 against the run line and have a 32-31 over/under record. They cover the spread 61% of the time.

The Cardinals show up with a 43-21 record, including 17-14 on the road. Jaime Garcia has an earned run average of 2.06 and is 2-3 so far on the season while having a 0.89 WHIP. The Cardinals are 2-3 over his 35 innings pitched and he's also given up 26 hits over that time period. Their record against the over/under when he starts is 1-4. His teammates are averaging 2 runs a game when he pitches. The bullpen has an earned run average of 1.89 and they have given up 161 base hits on the year. Opposing teams are hitting .230 against the Cardinals bullpen while walking 60 times and striking out 173 times. St. Louis is averaging 8.11 strikeouts per game while getting 8.13 hits per nine innings as a team. They rank 1st in baseball in team earned run average at 2.63.

St. Louis ranks 7th in the league in team batting average at .262 while hitting .247 on the road. The Cardinals hold a .395 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .327 which is good for 6th in baseball. Jhonny Peralta leads the team in hits with 74 while the team ranks 9th in baseball with 8.88 hits per game.

Minnesota is 20-12 at home while holding a 34-30 overall record on the season. Mike Pelfrey is starting this game 5-3 for the season with an earned run average of 3.18 and a WHIP of 1.36. The Twins have a record of 8-4 over the 70.2 innings he's pitched during which he's given up 74 hits. Their record against the over/under when he starts is 5-7. His teammates score an average of 4.2 runs a game when he pitches. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.71 and they have given up 190 base hits on the year. Opposing teams are hitting .253 against the Twins bullpen while walking 61 times and striking out 126 times. Minnesota is averaging 5.87 strikeouts per game while getting 9.5 hits per nine innings as a team. They rank 15th in the league in team earned run average at 3.93.

They rank 19th in the league in team batting average with a .247 average while hitting .275 at home. The Twins hold a .380 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .300 which is good for 26th in baseball. Brian Dozier leads the team in hits with 65 while the team ranks 21st in baseball with 8.27 hits a game.

St. Louis has a team fielding percentage of .985 after having committed 37 errors with 629 assists and 1,734 put outs for the season. The Twins have committed 39 errors on the season with 678 assists and 1,702 put outs leading to a team fielding percentage of .984 on the year.

St. Louis Cardinals Betting Trends

The St. Louis Cardinals are 22-40 against the over/under so far this season

The St. Louis Cardinals are 36-28 against the run line so far this season

Minnesota Twins Betting Trends

The Minnesota Twins are 32-31 against the over/under so far this season

The Minnesota Twins are 39-25 against the run line so far this season

Injuries to Watch

St. Louis Cardinals

06/12/15 P Lance Lynn Forearm Injury is on the 15 day disabled list (6/8)
06/09/15 LF Matt Holliday Quad Injury is on the 15 day disabled list (06/10)
05/27/15 1B Matt Adams Quad Injury is on the 15 day disabled list (05/26), out for regular season
05/03/15 P Jordan Walden Bicep Injury is on the 15 day disabled list (4/30)
04/28/15 P Adam Wainwright Achilles Injury is on the 15 day disabled list (4/25); out for season
04/04/15 LF Tommy Pham Quad Injury is on the 60 day disabled list (3/27)

Minnesota Twins

06/14/15 CF Aaron Hicks Elbow Injury is on the 15 day disabled list (6/13)
06/04/15 P Ricky Nolasco Ankle Injury is on the 15 day disabled list (6/1)
05/16/15 CF Jordan Schafer Knee Injury is on the 15 day disabled list (5/16)
04/04/15 P Ervin Santana Suspension expected to miss 80 games

Josh's Pick: Take the Cardinals

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