Giants at Cardinals Over 8 1/2
A few years ago a pitching matchup of Matt Cain versus Adam Wainwright might have brought a total of 7. Now it’s more than a run higher – and it’s still too short.
Cain can’t pitch away from spacious AT&T Park while Wainwright appears close to being finished.
The Cardinals have a healthy outfield now and midle infield power. Cain’s road ERA is 7.32 compared to 1.19 at home. Cain has a daytime ERA of 5.79 and a horrible history against the Cardinals when pitching at Busch Stadium with a 7.62 ERA there.
The over has cashed 72 percent of the time during Cain’s last 27 road starts. Cain also just threw a season-high 112 pitches during his last start this past Monday. That was 20 more pitches than his previous high this year.
Wainwright is struggling with a 5.31 ERA and 1.75 WHIP. He’s been wild and not working deep into games anymore. That’s a real problem for St. Louis considering its bullpen situation. The Giants have scored nine runs, eight earned, against St. Louis relievers in capturing the first two games of the series.
Cardinals closer Seung Hwan Oh is solid, but hasn’t been nearly as good as last season. The bridge to getting Oh is very vulnerable. Trevor Rosenthal and Kevin Siegrist are battline physical woes. They might not be available. Brett Cecil has been a huge disappointment.
The Cardinals have been a strong over team going above the total in 19 of their last 26 games. The weather forecast is for winds blowing out to right at 10-13 mph.
