The red hot Cardinals continue their four game set with National League West leader San Francisco tonight as the two clubs butt heads in a game two battle at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. First pitch in this evening’s contest, which features starters Lance Lynn and Barry Zito, is scheduled for 8:15pm ET. MLB Odds have the hosting Cardinals listed as a -185 favorite while the Giants are drawing +175 odds to even the series at a game apiece. Tonight’s game total is set at nine runs; the Under is favored at -115 odds.
St. Louis won for the fourth time is as many games last night, throttling the Giants 8-2 in the opener of a four game set at Busch Stadium. The victory snapped a three game San Francisco win streak and improved the Cardinals record to 60-49 on the season. Despite its recent run (the Cardinals are 6-1 in their last seven games), St. Louis remains six games back of the first place Reds in the NL Central race.
The Cardinals will look to gain more ground on Cincinnati, a loser in its last two games, this evening by sending big right hander Lance Lynn to the hill. Lynn, who is 13-4 this season, has not taken a loss since a June 30th outing against the Pirates, but St. Louis did fall 2-8 at Colorado in his last appearance. However, the Indiana native pitched well in the setback, allowing just two earned runs over six innings. Lynn has been exceptional at Busch Stadium this season, posting a 6-2 record and 2.79 ERA in eight starts there; his batting average against at home is .206.
San Francisco, which at 59-50 leads the Dodgers by just a half game in the NL West race, will attempt to bounce back from last night’s loss with former Cy Young winner Barry Zito toeing the rubber. Zito, who is 8-8 with a 4.27 ERA in 21 starts, has not been sharp in his last two appearances, allowing 13 hits and 11 earned runs (9.2 innings) in blowout losses to the Dodgers and Mets at AT&T Park.
Zito is 4-3 with a 4.40 ERA in 10 road starts this season. His last two away outings were both quality as he yielded just eight hits and three earned runs over 14 innings opposite the Braves and Phillies.
MLB Odds Betting Trend: The Cardinals are 9-1 in their last 10 games as a home favorite with a total between 8.5 and 9 runs, winning by an average of 4.8 runs per game.
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MLB Odds 2012 San Francisco Giants vs St. Louis Cardinals: Provided by SBG Global
San Francisco Giants +1.5 (-130), Over 9 (-105), +175 (Moneyline)
St. Louis Cardinals -1.5 (+110), Under 9 (-115), -185 (Moneyline)
