Ricky Nolasco is coming off one of his worst starts of his career and now he returns home to face the Cardinals whom he has struggled against. In 6 career starts Nolasco posts an 0-4 record and 6.62 ERA. He will have to be careful with Matt Holliday who is on a tear over his last 8 games and is 9-18 with 2 HR vs. Nolasco. Cardinals as a team are on a tear and have 111AB with a .414 average and 1.107 OPS against Nolasco. They just got finished sweeping the Royals wow punching out 41 hits and 30 runs in a 3 game sweep.
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The Marlins on the other hand avoided a sweep. Which was nice, but they are still struggling for consistency vs. RHP. The Cardinals are 21-7 in their last 28 at Miami and will go for their 7th win in a row in the series. Miami is 26th with a .685 OPS vs. RHP. They will face Jake Westbrook who has a 2.96 ERA in 4 starts vs. the Marlins. Marlin hitters have 93 AB and a .634 OPS vs. Westbrook who has been solid of late and posts a 2.93 ERA on the road. Overall the Cardinals are scoring 1.38 more runs per 9 innings vs. RHP than the Marlins and their bullpen is about a half run better. I see no edge for the Marlins here despite their âplayerâs only meeting,â called by Hanley Ramirez Saturday. Marlins are 18-48 in their last 66 as a home dog and the Cardinals are hot right now with the bats with tons of confidence vs. a struggling Nolasco.
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