The Boston Red Sox will look to keep their hot streak going against the St. Louis Cardinals in the final game of the two-game series between the ball clubs.
St. Louis Cardinals Form
Prior to dropping the last two games, the Cardinals had been a tear winning eight games in the a row that includes scoring four or more runs in each contest. It has helped start to turn around what’s been a lackluster season for the Cardinals that has them just a 1.5 games behind the defending champion Chicago Cubs for the National League Central division lead.
They have have been get back in the picture behind their pitching staff despite some concerns about its stability at times. The Cardinals currently rank sixth in ERA (3.86), 10th in opponent batting average (.251), 10th in WHIP (1.29), and third in quality starts (65).
Veteran right hander Lance Lynn is set to take the bump for St. Louis on Wednesday night as he currently holds a 10-6 record with a 3.12 ERA and 117 strikeouts in 24 starts this season. He has been a major part in providing some consistency to the starting rotation and keeping the team afloat in the playoff picture. He is currently sixth in the National League in ERA, sixth in WHIP (1.15), and 10th in NL in win percentage (.625).
Lynn has picked it up in his last seven starts holding a 4-0 record with a 1.45 ERA, and hasn’t dropped a game since the Fourth of July. In fact, he possesses the league-best mark of 18 starts where he has allowed two or fewer runs and is also tied for the best tally in the majors with 12 starts with one or fewer runs given up.
The 30-year-old has limited experience pitching against the Red Sox in the regular season holding a 0-1 record with a 2.08 ERA. He has also took the mound against them in the 2013 World Series where he lost Game 4.
Boston Red Sox Form
The Red Sox have also blazed a trail over the last couple of weeks winning 11 of their last 13 games including the first game of the series against the Cardinals on Tuesday in a 10-4 victory. Boston is currently sitting atop of the American League East with an ample 4 ½ game lead over the New York Yankees.
The Red Sox are set to send left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez to the mound on Wednesday to face the Cardinals. In 16 games with 15 starts this season, Rodriguez holds a 4-3 record with a 3.80 ERA and 96 strikeouts. In his five starts since returning from the disabled list, the 24-year-old has a 0-1 record with a 4.39 ERA. He is coming off an encouraging outing where he gave up no runs on two hits in six innings pitched but got the no decision in what turned out to be a 5-4 loss to the Yankees.
Rodriguez had left the game with a 3-run lead in hand, but the bullpen gave it all away. Despite his ERA being above 4.00 since his return, he’s coming off back-to-back quality starts where he has given up a combined two runs on six hits over 12.0 innings pitched. He has just one career appearance against the Cardinals where went 6.0 innings giving up three runs on five hits.
Like the Cardinals, the Red Sox have had a strong level of consistency from their pitching staff that currently holds the fourth-best ERA (3.65), fourth in WHIP (1.24), ninth in opponent batting average (.246), and second in quality starts (70).
Betting Tips
Given the direction that the Red Sox have been heading into the last few weeks has put them as the slight favorite over the Cardinals. BET365 has Boston with 13/10 odds while St. Louis is sitting at 4/6 odds for Wednesday’s tilt. We would recommend you taking the hot hand at the moment in the Red Sox at similar odds at 7/4. They are starting to hit stride and this could be another pivotal contest that could help extend them further into the right direction.