Cardinals continue homestand against beat-up Astros
St. Louis Cardinals continue homestand against beat-up Astros
Whipped soundly in Chicago their last two, the bullpen worn out and Roy Oswalt's next start iffy right now, the Astros head to St. Louis for a huge weekend series with the Cardinals.
Tony La Russa and St. Louis couldn't have picked a better opponent for a home series at this time as the Astros come to town battered and bruised, their brief surge up the standings screeching to a halt this past week. Oh sure, the Cardinals could be facing the Cubs' farm team in Pittsburgh, but that's a story for another time.
The NL Central is starting to shake out just how many expected it would with the Cubs and Cardinals at the top of the pack and beginning to separate themselves from the rest of the division. St. Louis continues their homestand this weekend after taking three of four from the Dodgers. The Cardinals missed out on a sweep of that series against LA when Joe Torre’s bunch pulled off a 5-3 win in 10 on Thursday night.
Chicago took three of four from Houston at Wrigley, winning the final two games of the series by a 24-3 margin. The Cubs also won the first game of the match on Monday via Alfonso Soriano's 13th-inning walk-off salami.
Houston's only win of that series turned out to be Tuesday when Roy Oswalt was injured in the second inning and the 'Stros seemed destined to come out on the smelly end of the stick. Cecil Cooper's team could very easily be coming into this one having been swept up at Wrigleyville.
Even with that win on Tuesday, Houston arrives at Busch Stadium in very bad shape. The bullpen has been wasted, Monday's game going 13 frames, Roy O coming out early on Tuesday, and back-to-back 12-0 and 12-3 losses in which both Mike Hampton and Russ Ortiz were even left in longer than they might have if the 'pen wasn't already abused in the previous games.
The relievers are also being set up for more work with Brian Moehler (10-7, 5.16) going Friday night and Oswalt set to go Sunday, though for how long is anyone's guess.
For Friday's game, I'm laying off just because I seem to be on the wrong side in any game Moehler starts. I can't even get excited about the Over since Houston's offense, though they did score 11 on Tuesday, is in a funk right now with Lance Berkman's move to the DL a big part of that.
To Moehler's credit, he's starting more wins than losses this season, Houston is 5-2 when he takes a turn on the road and he's sporting a 4.12 ERA in those seven away assignments. This will be his first road start since very early July, and Moehler does have recent success against the St. Louis lineup having beaten them at Minute Maid on July 20, a win that kicked off a three-game sweep of the Cards. Still, this is his first start ever at Busch II, and even though he's had overall success against the hitters in this Redbirds lineup there are a few that have pounded the NC native.
One of those few is Albert Pujols who absotively, posilutely owns Moehler with nine hits, three of them of the bleacher souvenir variety, in 17 at bats. Skip Schumaker (5-10, .500) and Julio Lugo (7-19, .368) have also gotten their licks in. When Moehler faced Phat Albert and the Redbirds earlier this month, he managed to catch Pujols with the bases empty and two outs in the first inning and leading off the fourth before intentionally walking him in the fifth. Matt Holliday was not with the Cards then, so it will be a different story this time.
Mitchell Boggs (4-0, 3.22) will be making just his fifth major league start in this one, with the Cardinals 4-0 in his starts earlier this season. The last two starts he made in May before being sent back down saw him fail to make it through the fifth inning, one reason he has just the one decision on his personal ledger. While pitching at Triple-A Indy this season Boggs made 13 starts with a 4.29 ERA.
Weekend weather in the Archway City should start off with a great evening on Friday with clear skies and the temperature tapering off to mid-60s. We should see long sleeves in the crowd, not exactly the norm for the last day of July in St. Louis. There is an increased chance of rain on Saturday as clouds build up with the game a 7:15 (ET) start, but Sunday's afternoon contest should be pleasant temps with little chance of rain.
The Saturday and Sunday games shape up to be dandy pitching matchups on paper. Wandy Rodriguez (14-7, 2.65) faces Chris Carpenter (9-7, 2.19) in Game 2, with Oswalt (12-10, 3.61) scheduled to try and take the hill on Sunday against Adam Wainwright (15-7, 2.80). I can't remember the last time I saw two teams go into a three-game set at this time of the season, and each starting pitching matchup featured starters whose teams were above .500 in their outings.
Still, the only way to play this one is taking the Cards for the series, and maybe even chasing the sweep on Sunday depending how the line is set and moving on any Oswalt news. Despite being confident in St. Louis’ chances on Friday, there’s no way I’d lay the -170 on a pitcher like Boggs. Cards to win the series and maybe a play on St. Louis come Sunday if they are going for the series sweep, depending on how things work out with Oswalt and how that line is set eventually.
Whipped soundly in Chicago their last two, the bullpen worn out and Roy Oswalt's next start iffy right now, the Astros head to St. Louis for a huge weekend series with the Cardinals.
Tony La Russa and St. Louis couldn't have picked a better opponent for a home series at this time as the Astros come to town battered and bruised, their brief surge up the standings screeching to a halt this past week. Oh sure, the Cardinals could be facing the Cubs' farm team in Pittsburgh, but that's a story for another time.
The NL Central is starting to shake out just how many expected it would with the Cubs and Cardinals at the top of the pack and beginning to separate themselves from the rest of the division. St. Louis continues their homestand this weekend after taking three of four from the Dodgers. The Cardinals missed out on a sweep of that series against LA when Joe Torre’s bunch pulled off a 5-3 win in 10 on Thursday night.
Chicago took three of four from Houston at Wrigley, winning the final two games of the series by a 24-3 margin. The Cubs also won the first game of the match on Monday via Alfonso Soriano's 13th-inning walk-off salami.
Houston's only win of that series turned out to be Tuesday when Roy Oswalt was injured in the second inning and the 'Stros seemed destined to come out on the smelly end of the stick. Cecil Cooper's team could very easily be coming into this one having been swept up at Wrigleyville.
Even with that win on Tuesday, Houston arrives at Busch Stadium in very bad shape. The bullpen has been wasted, Monday's game going 13 frames, Roy O coming out early on Tuesday, and back-to-back 12-0 and 12-3 losses in which both Mike Hampton and Russ Ortiz were even left in longer than they might have if the 'pen wasn't already abused in the previous games.
The relievers are also being set up for more work with Brian Moehler (10-7, 5.16) going Friday night and Oswalt set to go Sunday, though for how long is anyone's guess.
For Friday's game, I'm laying off just because I seem to be on the wrong side in any game Moehler starts. I can't even get excited about the Over since Houston's offense, though they did score 11 on Tuesday, is in a funk right now with Lance Berkman's move to the DL a big part of that.
To Moehler's credit, he's starting more wins than losses this season, Houston is 5-2 when he takes a turn on the road and he's sporting a 4.12 ERA in those seven away assignments. This will be his first road start since very early July, and Moehler does have recent success against the St. Louis lineup having beaten them at Minute Maid on July 20, a win that kicked off a three-game sweep of the Cards. Still, this is his first start ever at Busch II, and even though he's had overall success against the hitters in this Redbirds lineup there are a few that have pounded the NC native.
One of those few is Albert Pujols who absotively, posilutely owns Moehler with nine hits, three of them of the bleacher souvenir variety, in 17 at bats. Skip Schumaker (5-10, .500) and Julio Lugo (7-19, .368) have also gotten their licks in. When Moehler faced Phat Albert and the Redbirds earlier this month, he managed to catch Pujols with the bases empty and two outs in the first inning and leading off the fourth before intentionally walking him in the fifth. Matt Holliday was not with the Cards then, so it will be a different story this time.
Mitchell Boggs (4-0, 3.22) will be making just his fifth major league start in this one, with the Cardinals 4-0 in his starts earlier this season. The last two starts he made in May before being sent back down saw him fail to make it through the fifth inning, one reason he has just the one decision on his personal ledger. While pitching at Triple-A Indy this season Boggs made 13 starts with a 4.29 ERA.
Weekend weather in the Archway City should start off with a great evening on Friday with clear skies and the temperature tapering off to mid-60s. We should see long sleeves in the crowd, not exactly the norm for the last day of July in St. Louis. There is an increased chance of rain on Saturday as clouds build up with the game a 7:15 (ET) start, but Sunday's afternoon contest should be pleasant temps with little chance of rain.
The Saturday and Sunday games shape up to be dandy pitching matchups on paper. Wandy Rodriguez (14-7, 2.65) faces Chris Carpenter (9-7, 2.19) in Game 2, with Oswalt (12-10, 3.61) scheduled to try and take the hill on Sunday against Adam Wainwright (15-7, 2.80). I can't remember the last time I saw two teams go into a three-game set at this time of the season, and each starting pitching matchup featured starters whose teams were above .500 in their outings.
Still, the only way to play this one is taking the Cards for the series, and maybe even chasing the sweep on Sunday depending how the line is set and moving on any Oswalt news. Despite being confident in St. Louis’ chances on Friday, there’s no way I’d lay the -170 on a pitcher like Boggs. Cards to win the series and maybe a play on St. Louis come Sunday if they are going for the series sweep, depending on how things work out with Oswalt and how that line is set eventually.
