The St. Louis Cardinals (10-19, 5-8 home) are back home to host the Los Angeles Angels (15-14, 7-9 away) in a three-game interleague series. The two franchises didn’t play each other at all in 2022.
First pitch of Tuesday’s series-opener is at 7:45 p.m. EST inside Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. St. Louis is the betting favorite (-130 moneyline) while the over/under total is nine runs.
What to Know – Los Angeles Angels
Los Angeles continues its midwest swing after dropping two of three in Milwaukee over the weekend. The Angels sit third in the AL West, 2.5 games behind the leading Texas Rangers.
Left-hander Patrick Sandoval (2-1, 3.16 ERA, 1.29 WHIP) is the probable starter for the visitors. Sandoval comes in with momentum after recording his best outing of the season in his last start. In five starts, the southpaw has thrown 25.2 innings, allowed nine earned runs on 21 hits and 12 walks while striking out 20 batters.
The Angels rank 12th in the majors sporting a .252 team batting average and scoring 5.1 runs per game. The pitching staff for Los Angeles is 11th in the MLB with a 3.87 team earned run average.
The bats of Hunter Renfroe, Shohei Ohtani, and Mike Trout have engineered the Angels offense through the first 28 games of the season. All three have blasted seven home runs, with Renfroe driving in a team-best 20 runners.
What to Know – St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis returns home after a lengthy West Coast swing where the Cardinals won just two of ten contests. The Cardinals have fallen to nine games under .500 and find themselves in the cellar of the NL Central.
Steven Matz (0-3, 6.23 ERA, 1.73 WHIP) aims to pick up his first victory of the season. The veteran lefty has struggled out of the gate, failing to leave with a win over his first five trips to the mound. Matz has 26.0 innings under his belt, surrendering 18 earned runs, 32 hits, 13 walks, and striking out 27 batters.
St. Louis ranks sixth amongst league teams hitting .262 as a team and averaging 4.2 runs per game. The Cardinals pitching staff is 17th in the MLB featuring a 4.45 team ERA.
The Cardinals have struggled to put the ball in play with runners in scoring position. Nolan Gorman leads the team with 22 RBIs, while the heart of the order, Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt, have combined for 28 RBIs. Gorman also leads St. Louis with six home runs.
The Pick is In
What is going on in St. Louis through the first five weeks is a huge concern for Cardinals fans. A homestand should help get St. Louis is back on track, but Matz hasn’t shown us anything on the mound to garner trust.
The value is too good here, and the Angels can get it done on the road behind Ohtani and Trout.
The Pick: Los Angeles Angels ML
