Friday MLB: St. Louis Cardinals (28-19) at San Francisco Giants (23-23)
The NL Central-leading St. Louis Cardinals get two huge boosts for Friday’s series opener in San Francisco as outfielders Rick Ankiel and Ryan Ludwick are expected to return from injuries.
But the Cards still are +112 underdogs on WagerWeb.com.
Ludwick has been sidelined since May 12 after straining his hamstring but will be activated and in the lineup tonight. Ludwick had eight homers in 30 games and was slugging .538 when he went down, so his presence should help an offense that has averaged just three runs a game since he went down.
“Ludwick’s a quality producer, so it’s got to be better,” manager Tony La Russa said.
Ankiel, meanwhile, was on the disabled list due to the injuries he sustained in a May 4 crash with the Busch Stadium wall. He came back for one game but experienced some additional right shoulder soreness, and missed the Cards’ recent series in Milwaukee in which they won two of three. He has been struggling mightily this year, but having Ankiel and Ludwick back around Albert Pujols should help that offense. For example, Pujols has received eight intentional walks just in the 14 games since Ludwick was shelved.
“There are two ways to get the bat in [Pujols'] hands: put guys on base in front, and have protection behind him,” La Russa said.
St. Louis starts righty Joe Pineiro (5-4, 3.52) tonight. He is 1-4 in his past five starts despite a 3.09 ERA over 35 innings. He’s walked one in 41 2/3 innings. Scheduled starter Kyle Lohse was bypassed due to a stiff arm.
San Francisco just swept Atlanta at home, holding the Braves to five runs in the three games. The Giants start Matt Cain (5-1, 2.40) tonight. He struck out seven and allowed one run on 10 hits in a nine-inning win against Seattle in his last start. He’s won three consecutive decisions, has a 1.61 ERA in 28 innings and held opponents to 4-for-40 with runners in scoring position.
MLB Betting at WagerWeb.com
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...
