St Louis Cardinals vs Atlanta Braves MLB Odds, Betting Preview 9/18/18
Tonight on the MLB diamond the National League Central will square off with the National League East as the St Louis Cardinals tangle with the Atlanta Braves. This is game two of a three-game series and will take place at SunTrust Park in Atlanta. The contest has a start time of 7:35 pm ET. The Cards have taken all four meetings between these teams this year.
Lines: St Louis +134… Atlanta -144 … Over/Under 8.5
Pitching Matchup
Getting the nod for the Cardinals will be Austin Gomber and he has gone 5-1 with a 3.78 ERA in 26 games (nine starts) on the year, including 2-0 with a 3.50 ERA in 11 games (six starts) on the road. Gomber is 4-1 with a 3.91 ERA in nine games as a starter in his first year. He has faced the Braves twice out of the pen this year.
Anibal Sanchez will toe the slab for the Braves and he has gone 6-5 with a 3.01 ERA in 22 games (21 starts) on the year, including 1-3 with a 3.11 ERA in 11 games (10 starts) here at home. In his career, he has gone 1-3 with a 3.11 ERA in 11 games (10 starts) here at SunTrust park and 14-19 with a 3.44 ERA in 53 games (51 starts) during Sept/ Oct. Sanchez has gone 2-2 with a 3.27 ERa in six career starts against the Cardinals.
A Look At The Cardinals
The Cardinals had a bad home series against the Dodgers, but they were able to get off to a good start in this series with an 11-6 win in game one. They will look to keep it going in this game as they continue to fight for a wildcard berth. They currently own a half-game lead over the Rockies for the 2nd wildcard slot. The Cards also trail the Brewers by three games for the top spot. The Cards have played very well over the 2nd half of the season and that is normal for them. Still, can they take another from an Atlanta team that has a solid edge on the mound in this one? We shall see.
In that 11-6 win, the Cards were led by Harrison Bader, Yadier Molina, and Kolten Wong, who each had three RBIs in the game. Bader (11), Paul DeJong (18), Molina (18) and Wong (9) all went deep in the game. The Cards are now 8th in the league in homers with 197. Miles Mikolas picked up the win after allowing just two ERs on four hits and a walks while striking out six in 5.0 innings of work. He is now 16-4 with a 3.01 ERA on the year. The Cardinals have gone 43-33 on the road and have averaged 5.08 rpg and have allowed 4.18 rpg in those games.
A Look At The Braves
The Atlanta Braves have a 6.5 game lead over the Phillies in the NL East, but they are not playing well right now. They are lucky they the Phillies have squandered many chances to gain ground on them. This race could be much tighter right now. Atlanta comes in having lost their last three games in a row. The pitching has been the real issue over that stretch as they allowed 24 runs in the three games. They have allowed 29 runs in the first four games of this homestand after allowing three total runs in a three-game series in San Francisco. The Braves will need to play much better at home in the postseason.
Mike Foltynewicz got roughed up in their 11-6 loss last night as he allowed six ERs on five hits and four walks in just 4.2 innings of work. Foltynewicz is now at 11-10 with a 2.90 ERA on the year so far. He had allowed 1 ER or less in six of his previous seven starts. He has struggled with the Cards in his career, as he is now 2-3 with an 8.06 ERA in against them. Freddie Freeman had their lone homer of the game and it was his 22nd of the year. The Braves have gone 38-37 here at home and they have averaged 4.83 rpg and have allowed 4.45 rpg in those games.
