We got absolutely slaughtered yesterday by the Aâs who beat up on the helpless Jays 16-0. Luckily my sportsbook oddsmaker.com has a slaughter rule where you get your money back if you lose by 10 runs or more. With that said we move on to the start of a winning streak today.
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The Cardinals have been dominating against LHP this year. Theyâre 7-2 in their last 9 vs. LH starter and at home this year they are scoring 6.47 runs per 9 vs. LHP and are ranked 2nd with a .799 OPS vs. LHP and are even 2nd during day games with a .794 OPS. They have excellent numbers vs. Capuano. Beltran is just 2-7, but he has 4 BBâs for a .545 OBP, Holliday/Furcal are a combined 16-45 with 2 HR, and Freese/Craig/Berkman are a combined 11-27 with a HR. Berkman is day to day but I feel confident even if the Cardinals play without him. Capuano has not been nearly as good on the road the second time around this season and heâs 0-3 with a 7.04 ERA over his last 5 in St. Louis. Heâs got a 4.10 ERA on the road and a 5.00 over the last 3 years combined.
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On the flip side Jake Westbrook has held the Dodgers hitters in check. Matt Kemp has never faced him and Ethier and Ramirez are 4-14. The rest of the probable hitters, Abreu, Ellis, Hairston, Kennedy, Uribe, Rivera, Loney are a combined 19-109. The Dodgers have struggled vs. RHP all year ranked 26th in OPS and are 29th during day games and 28th in OPS away from home. They are 7-19 in their last 26 vs. RH starters and they struggle even more against ground ball pitchers like Westbrook. Westbrook is 2nd behind only Derek Lowe in GB% getting 57.4% of batted balls to be ground outs. Cahill/Harell/Richard own the last 4 starts vs. the Dodgers and are all in the top 10 in ground ball % and they combine for a 2.28 ERA. I see the Cardinals still making a run at a wild card spot and though the Dodgers got Hanley Ramirez I donât know that it was a good thing for this season the way heâs played.
