Since the start of June, the St. Louis Cardinals have been one of the worst teams in the National League. They’ll try to turn things around when they begin a three-game home series on Monday against the Miami Marlins. The Cards are favored with a moneyline of -165 compared to Miami’s moneyline of +140.
St. Louis spent the weekend getting swept at Wrigley Field, meaning they have now lost nine of their last 10 games. The Cardinals are now a game under .500 and fourth in the NL Central, a swift fall from grace after leading the division not too long ago. However, all is not lost as the Cards are only six games back in the NL Central.
Meanwhile, the Marlins were ice-cold in late May and early June but appear to have turned the corner. Miami has won five of eight games, winning back-to-back series against the Rockies and Braves this past week. Of course, that’s only good enough to put them seven games under .500 and seven games out of first place.
Another New Guy
With injuries to the starting rotation, the Marlins will send lefty Braxton Garrett to the mound on Monday night. The 23-year-old lefty made two starts last season and has appeared in two games in the majors this year. He took the loss in a start against Colorado last week, giving up two runs on five hits over four innings.
The good news for Garrett is that he’ll face a lineup that was shut out on Sunday and has managed two runs or less five times in its last nine games. Yadier Molina and Nolan Arenado have been forced to do most of the heavy lifting for the St. Louis lineup this year. However, both have started to slump recently with Tyler O’Neill and Matt Carpenter the team’s only hitters who have been consistently productive over the past week.
This Old Man
In need of a win, the Cardinals will turn to veteran Adam Wainwright to get things turned around. At age 39, Wainwright is 4-5 with a 4.03 ERA over his first 12 starts of the season. He’s pitched at least seven innings in three of his last four starts and appears to be getting stronger as the season movies along.
Meanwhile, the Marlins are still struggling to score runs with the likes of Miguel Rojas, Garrett Cooper, and Brian Anderson on the IL. Even when they’ve turned things around recently, the team has scored more than four runs just twice in eight games. However, Jazz Chisholm and Starling Marte are both red-hot right now while Adam Duvall has homered three times in the last week.
Fighting Fish
By their standards, the Marlins are a hot team right now. The caveat is that they’re sending a relatively unknown pitcher to the mound, albeit against a struggling lineup. Ultimately, the Cardinals are struggling too much right now to make them a sound pick as a home favorite. Bet on the Marlins at +140 to pick up a win in St. Louis on Monday.
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