Brewers, Cardinals match-up, trying to catch Cubbies
Posted on 7/24/2008 11:18:15 AM
By T.J. Kendrick
Bet on baseball: Milwaukee Brewers at St. Louis Cardinals
WHAT: Milwaukee Brewers at St. Louis Cardinals
WHO: Ben Sheets (10-3, 2.88 ERA) vs. Todd Wellemeyer (8-4, 4.22 ERA)
WHEN: Thursday, July 24 @ 8:15 p.m. ET
WHERE: Busch Stadium
HEAD TO HEAD: Milwaukee has won seven of its last 10 games against St. Louis, including four straight.
KEY STATS: Sheets has lost four of his last five starts against St. Louis.
Milwaukee and St. Louis are scrambling to catch the Cubs for the NL Central division lead. The Brewers (57-43) are certainly on their way. In fact, since their trade for C.C. Sabathia?and subsequent six-game winning streak?they may have already overtaken Chicago as division favorites.
It's hard to pick against Milwaukee at this point. Sabathia and Ben Sheets give them two legitimate aces (it's worth noting the Brewers are getting great +1500 MLB odds to win the World Series).
Sheets (10-3) will start on Thursday, and he's tearing through the National League with a 2.88 ERA and 1.15 WHIP.
He hasn't had a lot of juice to go deep in games lately, however. Sheets has pitched five, six and 5.2 innings, respectively, over his last three starts. He's won two of those games, including last week's 8-5 victory over the San Francisco Giants.
The Cardinals often seem to get the best of Sheets. In 24 career starts, he's just 5-14 with a 4.28 ERA, well above his average over the past four and a half seasons.
The Brewers have more talent than just about anybody in their lineup (which is largely the reason they could afford to move highly touted prospect Matt LaPorta for Sabathia). After a solid if unspectacular start, the young bats are finally getting hot.
The damage is spread evenly throughout the lineup, but Bill Hall has got things going lately. He's been forced to split time at third base because of his struggles against right-handers, but that's truly changed this week; Hall has hit game-winning homers against righties in back-to-back games.
By no means is St. Louis (57-45) out of the NL Central race. Still, if you're going to bet on baseball, consider the team an underdog against Chicago and Milwaukee. The Cardinals aren't a sure bet to win the MLB Wild Card, let alone the division title.
Todd Wellemeyer (8-4) has surprised many observers with his very good record this season. Odds are that pace will slow down, however, as he has a 4.22 ERA. In fact, before last week's 6-5 win over the San Diego Padres, the Cardinals had lost five consecutive games to St. Louis.
St. Louis outfielder Ryan Ludwick continues to amaze the online betting community. In his seventh year in the Major League Baseball he's shattering his career highs. He already has 23 homers (previous high of 14) and 69 RBIs (52). He's hitting about 30 points higher than his lifetime average.
Ludwick's magic hasn't run out this week - the slugger is hitting .353 with two homers in his last five games.
I like Milwaukee in this game. The Brew Crew looks like a legitimate World Series contender thanks to a brilliant pitching staff and talented hitters. They should get plenty of action down the stretch.
Visit the Bet Online Sportsbook for the best lines, props and MLB odds in the business. Be sure to regularly visit the Bettor's Edge for great tips, info and help to bet on baseball.
T.J. Kendrick is the biggest baseball nut and a brilliant MLB handicapper. His love of the game borders on obsession, and he takes every chance he gets to make excellent predictions, frequently contributing to industry handicapping sites as well as BetOnline.com. Thoughts or questions? Email Comments@BetOnline.com.
