The first game of the day Thursday is already the season finale between the St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies as they meet in the City of Brotherly Love. The Phils are short MLB betting favorites in a matchup of young pitchers.
Cardinals vs Phillies MLB Odds, Game 3 Prediction & Pick
- When: Thursday, 1:05 PM ET
- Where: Citizens Bank Park
- Probable pitchers (away/home): Dakota Hudson/Jerad Eickhoff
- TV: MLB Network
- Stream: MLB.tv
- Radio: St. Louis / Philadelphia
- Opening MLB Lines: Phillies -120, Cardinals +110 (10)
Why Bet on St. Louis?
The Cardinals have gone winless (0-6-1) in eight seven consecutive series, their longest such streak since going 0-6-1 over a stretch of seven-straight series from May 16-June 8, 2017 (0-2 vs. BOS, 1-2 vs. SF, 1-2 at LAD, 1-2 at COL, 2-2 vs. LAD, 0-3 at CHI, 0-4 at CIN).
St. Louis is still seeking consecutive wins this month and for the first time since they enjoyed a season-best 5-game winning streak from April 27-May 1. Not since 1919 have the Cardinals gone this late in the month of May without winning consecutive games. That year, year, the Cardinals went on a 4-game win streak May 27-30. Only twice previously (1897 & 1903) in franchise history, has the team failed to win consecutive games in May. The Cardinals, after winning a Major League leading 11 games in walk-off fashion last season, have yet to do so in 2019.
Dakota Hudson (3-3) allowed two runs on five hits and two walks across 6.1 innings during Saturday’s 6-3 win over the Braves. He struck out two but did not factor in the decision. Hudson exited with a 2-1 lead and a runner on third with one out in the sixth, but Carlos Martinez was unable to prevent the run from scoring. It was a fairly quick hook by manager Mike Shildt since Hudson ended up throwing only 74 pitches. The 24-year-old has three straight quality starts and a 4.22 ERA, 1.63 WHIP and 38:24 K:BB this season.
When he’s at his best, Hudson is inducing a heavy dose of groundball outs. He did just that in his last start, which lasted a career-long 6 1/3 innings. Hudson has steadied himself in May with four quality starts and a 3.07 ERA over five games.
Team Statistics
Offense:- Runs: 4.96
- Hits: 8.49
- Walks: 3.77
- Strike Outs: 8.19
- Runs: 4.60
- Hits: 7.98
- Walks: 3.53
- Strike Outs: 8.72
Why Bet on Philadelphia?
The Phillies are without one of their better players in center fielder Odubel Herrera. According to court documents, Herrera caused “minor injuries” to his girlfriend during Monday’s domestic violence incident in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Those “minor injuries” include “hand print markings to her neck area and small scratches to her arms.” Herrera was arrested inside a hotel room at the Golden Nugget Casino around 9 p.m. on Monday before later posting bail and setting a court date for June 17 on charges of simple assault. Major League Baseball has placed the 27-year-old outfielder on administrative leave, and there will almost certainly be a lengthy suspension coming.
“We’re going to be transparent about this,” Phillies general manager Matt Klentak said Tuesday. “We’re not going to hide the ball. There’s no secrets. Whatever we learn, we’ll share it and the league will help us make whatever decision we’re going to make.”
Dating back to last year, Hector Neris has converted 13 straight saves and 21 of 24 (87.0%) since the start of 2018. His streak of 13 straight saves in save opportunities is the 2nd-longest streak of his career, trailing a 21-save streak, 6/28-17-4/9/18. In that 13-save streak, Neris has allowed only 1 ER, five hits and two walks in 14.2 innings, striking out 22 batters.
Jerad Eickhoff (2-2) didn’t factor into the decision in Friday’s 6-4 win over the Brewers, giving up four runs on five hits and a walk over three innings while striking out one. Christian Yelich and Orlando Arcia both took Eickhoff deep, but the Phillies rallied in the middle innings to take the right-hander off the hook for his third loss. He’s now given up multiple homers in three straight starts, not lasting longer than five innings in any of them, and the rough stretch has inflated Eickhoff’s ERA to 3.86.
After posting a 1.50 ERA in his first five starts this season, Eickhoff has a 9.75 mark over his last three. He has allowed seven homers in those three outings, after serving up zero over 30 innings in his first five starts.
Team Statistics
Offense:- Runs: 4.94
- Hits: 8.33
- Walks: 3.89
- Strike Outs: 8.89
- Runs: 4.43
- Hits: 8.87
- Walks: 3.43
- Strike Outs: 8.59
Cardinals vs Phillies MLB Betting Trends
- Cardinals are 0-6 in their last 6 during game 3 of a series.
- Phillies are 5-1 in Eickhoff’s last 6 starts vs. National League Central.
- Phillies are 5-1 in Eickhoff’s last 6 starts.
- Phillies are 4-1 in Eickhoff’s last 5 starts with 5 days of rest.
- Phillies are 7-3 in Eickhoff’s last 10 home starts.
Expert MLB Prediction for Cardinals vs Phillies
Phillies 6, Cardinals 3
