[Renojaguar]

GAME 1

The Cardinals got just what the doctor ordered a 3 game sweep of the Atlanta Braves this weekend. Not only does this pull them 4 1/2 games out of the Wildcard race but it pulls them within 6 games of the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers. St Louis will start a seven-game trip Monday night with the first of three games against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Cardinals will start Kyle Lohse who overall is having an above average season posting a 13-9 record with an ERA of 3.59. The Cardinals have split the 4 games against the Pirates when Lohse has taken the hill, but he has allowed 2 runs or less in 3 of those 4 starts. Lohse, who is 6-1 with a 4.08 ERA over his last seven outings, in the series opener. Lohse gave up four hits over six scoreless innings last Tuesday in a 4-2 victory over Milwaukee. The right-hander is 7-2 with a 3.62 ERA in 13 career starts against Pittsburgh, including 2-1 with a 3.75 ERA in four this year.
Brad Lincoln (1-2, 3.53) will oppose Lohse as he makes his second career start against St. Louis. His first one was stellar, as he yielded six hits over six innings of a 7-0 victory Aug. 27 at Busch Stadium. It has been a rough go for Lincoln at PNC Park as he holds an 0-2 record in his 3 apperances in Pittsburgh, not too mention the Pirates have lost 2 of his 3 starts in Pittsburgh. The Pirates are two losses away from extending their record streak of consecutive losing seasons to 19. Pittsburgh has dropped eight of 12 overall, including a weekend sweep at home to Florida in which it got outscored 20-5. The Right-Hander Brad Lincoln will have to face some hitters for the Cardinals who have come alive since their last meeting at Busch. Jon Jay went 13 for 27 with two homers and nine runs scored during the nine-game stretch while Lance Berkman was 12 for 30 with five RBIs. Catcher Yadier Molina, meanwhile, is 13 for 36 (.361) with three homers and eight RBIs against Pittsburgh this year. Molina ended a 3-for-19 slide with three hits and three RBIs in Sunday's victory. The Pirates do have one threat for the Cardinals, Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen is batting .347 this year against St. Louis But has went cold as of late hitting .182 over his last 14 games,. I definatley see an edge for the Cardinals in this one as they need this game to stay in the Hunt for October.

5*POD<<< ST LOUIS CARDINALS -135

GAME 2
The Tampa Bay Rays suddenly find themselves in the thick of the playoff race after sweeping the AL wild-card leaders, Boston Red Sox.Tampa Bay moved a season-high 17 games over .500 and within 3 1/2 of wild card-leading Boston after completing a three-game sweep of the Red Sox with Sunday's 9-1 victory. B.J. Upton had a grand slam among a season-best four hits and James Shields came within two outs of his 12th complete game of the year. Continuing their quest for a postseason berth, though, could prove difficult given Jeff Niemann's recent ugly stretch. He has been the weak-link in the Tampa Bay pitching rotation.Niemann, who went 6-0 with a 1.71 ERA from July 2-Aug. 16, has since gone 1/3 with a 7.33 ERA over his last four starts. He was at his worst during Tuesday's 8-0 loss to Texas, yielding a season-high seven runs and nine hits in 4 2/3 innings. He has allowed 19 runs off of 26 hits in that 4 game span. Getting back on the road could help Niemann regroup. He is 6-2 with a 3.36 ERA in 10 starts away from home as opposed to 3-5 with a 4.74 mark at home. The right-hander, who hasn't faced Baltimore this season, is 1-2 with a 7.06 ERA over four career starts at Camden Yards. Since suffering a three-game sweep at the hands of the Orioles to open the season, the Rays have taken eight of 12 meetings in the series, including five of six in Baltimore.

Baltimore is well out of the race and can be nothing more than spoilers for these competitive teams trying to make it to the play-offs. The Orioles will counter with their new comer Zack Britton who has been about as impressive as they come. Baltimore has won each of his last 4 starts during which the rookie left-hander has gone 3-0 with a 2.74 ERA. Britton (9-9, 4.33) has impressed in three outings in this matchup, going 2-1 with a 3.12 ERA while holding the Rays to a .186 average. He outdueled David Price during a 3-2 road win Sept. 2, yielding two runs and four hits in six innings. Overall the Orioles have won 7 of his 11 starts this year and look to spoil the Rays for a play-off spot. Johnny Damon is 0 for 5 against Britton while Upton, Sean Rodriguez and Ben Zobrist are a combined 3 for 21. The Orioles have not only struggles at home this year with disappointing 33-40 record but it has not been too promising against division apponents posting a terrible 21-41 record. Dispite all of the struggles and troubles Neimann has had not only over the last 4 games but against the Orioles, he will get it done today. Going with the Rays today.

3* TAMPA BAY RAYS -142

[cohbull]

Everything you said makes sense. At this point of the season, you gotta look for teams that are motivated to play and both the cards and rays have something to play for. Good luck!