The St. Louis Cardinals handily defeated the Washington Nationals in the first game of their three-game series and will look to take another one on Tuesday night. A 12-5 victory, due in part to a stellar grand slam by Paul Dejong, propelled the Cardinals to victory on Monday. The question for the Cardinals is can they perform just as well in the batters-box on Tuesday? If they want to take game two versus the Nationals, they better have a repeat performance.
The Washington Nationals were able to produce five runs of their own on Monday, making it quite the high-scoring night. After some big hits from the Cardinals, though, the Nationals just weren’t able to keep up, letting the game slip from their grasp. Had it not been for the five runs given up in the fifth inning, this game would’ve been much closer.
The most important thing to consider for the second game of the series is who you should be taking at the sportsbook. The Cardinals easily defeated the Nationals to start this series, but should you trust them to double down on Tuesday?
Cardinals come in as +105 underdogs in game two
The Cardinals coming in as underdogs here makes little to no sense, even with Pitcher Adam Wainwright getting the start. Wainwright is 0-2 as a starter and leaves little to admire on the mound with an ERA of 7.11. That being said, it’s really the Cardinals batting that wins them games. They’re in the top ten for the most runs in MLB, and with who the Nationals are starting at pitcher on Tuesday, the Cardinals are in good shape to score big again.
The Cardinals are a mediocre team to bet on at the sportsbook, sitting just under .500. The only reason they aren’t more trustworthy is due to their below-average bullpen. The batting average against St. Louis is .249, which could prove troublesome against the Nationals through this series, who have one of the league’s best batting averages and slugging percentages.
Danger looms for Nat’s as Patrick Corbin gets the start at Pitcher
Patrick Corbin has had a rough start to his season, going 0-2 in his only two starts with an ERA of 21.32. Although that seems like an unreal statistic, it’s true and could end as a great day for the Cardinals’ batting lineup. The only hope the Nationals have at keeping this competitive is if their league-leading batters carry the team.
The Nationals rough season has made it tough to take them at the sportsbook. They’re well under .500 when it comes to covering tickets. That’s mainly due to their below-par bullpen making it hard for even their batters to keep up. With Corbin getting the start on the mound, I would expect no different heading into Tuesday’s game.
Best bet at the sportsbook? St. Louis Cardinals +120
With what we saw from St. Louis on Monday night, we can expect them to repeat the performance against the Nationals on Tuesday. Washington has consistently allowed the Cardinals to score big on them, and with Corbin getting the go-ahead on the mound, the best bet here is St. Louis. Take the road team on this one, St. Louis Cardinals +120.
