Milwaukee has survived a six game road trip coming into their home opener in the April 14th Cardinals at Brewers matchup. Craig Counsell may have liked better than a 3-3 record considering Milwaukee played the Cubs and Orioles over the first two series’ but a successful four game set with St. Louis will put all of that in the rear view.
St. Louis is very happy with their 3-1 start that has them atop the NL Central, although they did drop a 9-4 home game against Pittsburgh last weekend as a -215 favorite. At the very least the Cardinals bullpen should be fresh, as they had Monday off and Wednesday’s contest with the Royals was rained out. STL was 11-8 against division winner Milwaukee last season, so they’ll try to get off on another positive start on Thursday afternoon.
Cardinals Try to Get in a Groove
St. Louis is 3-1 on the year but mostly just happy to visit American Family Field where there is a retractable roof. The Cardinals have had a lot of stops and starts this year due to having two games already postponed, so they just want some consistency as they embark on a 10-game road swing that includes visits to Miami and Cincinnati.
Postponements aren’t all bad, as they’ve allowed Adam Wainwright to start the first road game of the season in Milwaukee, pushing Miles Mikolas back until Friday. Wainwright was electric in his first start of the year, throwing 6.0 IP of shutout ball in last Thursday’s contest with Pittsburgh (a 9-0 STL win). The 40-year-old was the 4th oldest pitcher to ever toss 6+ shutout innings on Opening Day.
Wainwright has six days of rest and a potent offense behind him in the April 14th Cardinals at Brewers betting matchup. Nolan Arenado has 3 HR and 9 RBI already and Albert Pujols looks a bit renewed back in the Gateway City going 3-9 with a HR so far in 2022.
Brewers Search for Their Offense at Home
Most people knew the Brewers offense was going to be a question mark this season, something that would be offset by arguably the best pitching staff in the majors. Those pundits and fans were correct about the Milwaukee offense stinking (26th in runs/game, 23rd in team BA) but the pitching was bad the first time through the rotation as well with a 4.24 ERA (21st) and a 1.41 WHIP (27th).
The good news is that reigning Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes looked good in his second start of the year (7.0 IP, 3H, 0ER) and now we get to see if Brandon Woodruff follows that trend. Woodruff lasted just 3.2 IP in his first start, allowing 7ER in a 9-0 loss to the Cubs. Temperatures were also in the low 40s in that game and Woodruff was noticeably uncomfortable – but warmer weather or not how much was his psyche damaged?
Free April 14th Cardinals at Brewers Betting Pick
Arenado is almost single-handedly outperforming the Brewers offense through the first couple games of the season, and there are some major questions about Woodruff on Thursday night. Wainwright was 2-1 with a 3.62 ERA in 5 appearances vs Milwaukee last season, while Woodruff only allowed 2 ER in two home starts vs. St. Louis last year but was still 0-2 vs. the Redbirds overall.
Ultimately the Cardinals edge on offense makes them the play here, especially with the Brewers priced way too high at -145.
Free Pick: Cardinals +125
