The Philadelphia Phillies (41-38, 21-20 home) and St. Louis Cardinals (44-36, 20-20 away) square off in the series rubber match on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. Philadelphia took the opener, 5-3, and the Cardinals bounced back on Saturday with a 7-6 triumph.
The first pitch of Sunday’s contest is at 7 p.m. EST at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies opened as the betting favorite at -160, and the over-under total is 7.5 runs.
What to Know – St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis remains one-game back of the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central. The Cardinals are 4-6 in recent contests as they continue to fight for the top spot in the division.
On the hill for the Cardinals is veteran right-hander Adan Wainwright (6-5, 3.07 ERA, 1.25 WHIP). The 40-year-old tries to keep the good times rolling after tossing a shutout in his last outing against Miami. Wainwright has logged 91.0 innings on the mound, allowing 31 earned runs on 88 hits and 26 walks with 76 strikeouts.
St. Louis made history yesterday with four-straight home runs, starting with star Nolan Arenado. Arenado put a pair in the seats on Saturday and has gone deep three times this weekend against the Phillies. Paul Goldschmidt leads the MLB with a .346 batting average and ranks second with 65 runs batted in.
The Cardinals are fifth in the majors and second in the NL with a .254 team batting average, scoring 4.8 runs per game. The pitching staff for St. Louis ranks tenth in the MLB with a 3.80 team earned run average.
What to Know – Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia sits in third place in the NL East, 7.5 games behind the leading New York Mets. The Phillies are 5-5 over their last ten contests.
The Phillies counter on the hill with Zack Wheeler (6-4, 2.89 ERA, 1.10 WHIP). Wheeler makes his first start in July after sporting a 3-1 record over five starts in June. The talented right-hander has thrown 81.0 innings, surrendering 26 earned runs, 70 hits, 19 walks, and 94 punchouts.
With Bryce Harper on the shelf, the Phillies’ offense continues to hum along behind the bats of Rhys Hoskins and Kyle Schwarber. Schwarber is tied for second in the MLB with 23 home runs. Hoskins has 16 home runs and 41 driven in and has hit safely in six-straight contests.
Philadelphia is 11th amongst teams in the league, hitting .247 and averaging 4.8 runs per contest. The Phillies pitching staff sits 15th in the MLB with a 3.92 team ERA.
The Pick is In
Wheeler has been one of the best pitchers in the majors this season, but the Cardinals can get guys on base. This has a receipt of a vintage outing for Wainwright as he gets to navigate a Harper-less Phillies lineup. The Cardinals offense gets a few of Wheeler and adds more to the tally against the bullpen.
The Pick: St. Louis Cardinals ML
