Sports Betting OverviewThe St. Louis Cardinals are just happy to still be in the playoff hunt in the NL Central after the rash of significant injuries they had to start the season. But now that some of the key Cardinals are coming back, the MLB betting world if the Cardinals will be able to stand with the Milwaukee Brewers and compete for the NL Central pennant. Even with most of their major parts back in place, the Cardinals are still struggling and their spot in the MLB standings atop the NL Central is in jeopardy.
For a little while there, it looked like the Phillies would actually have to deal with the Atlanta Braves as Philadelphia marched towards another NL East pennant. But as the MLB scores roll in on the way to July, the Philadelphia Phillies are opening up a lead on the Atlanta Braves and the Braves do not seem able to respond. There is still more than half the season left to go, but the Phillies look like they have hit their groove and are in command of their game.
St. Louis Cardinals
The Cardinals have lost seven of its last 10 games and are currently tied with Milwaukee for the top spot in the NL Central. The Cardinals managed to pull out wins in the last two games of their series with the Kansas City Royals, otherwise St. Louis would be looking up at Milwaukee by a few games.
Kyle McClellan takes the mound for St. Louis in this game with his 6-3 record and 3.96 ERA. McClellan just finished a rehab stint in the minors and this will be only his second start since coming back up to the Cardinals. He had gotten off to a good start to the season, but his injury really put him off track. He did not seem to have much control in his last outing, but the Cardinals attribute that to rust from the injury. In this game, McClellan needs to start getting his stuff back.
Philadelphia Phillies
Cole Hamels had the chance to be the first pitcher in the majors to get 10 wins this season, but he blew it against Seattle. In this game, it will be Roy Halladay’s turn to try and win his 10th game of the season. Halladay is 9-3 with a 2.56 ERA on the year. Halladay has not played the Cardinals yet this year, and he is coming off a bad outing against the struggling Marlins. St. Louis is a good hitting team, and that may give Halladay problems.
The Bottom Line
Something is going on with the super-hyped starting rotation for the Philadelphia Phillies. This is actually Halladay’s second shot at getting his 10th win of the season. His first try was the Florida game where he gave up four runs in seven innings. This would be a good time for the Phillies’ starting rotation to snap out of whatever funk they are in.
BSNblog Pick: Philadelphia Phillies
