The Cardinals will aim to stay in the hunt for a NL wildcard spot when they continue their seven-game home stand with the first game of a crucial three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds that begins on Monday in St. Louis. <\/p>\n
CIN: Mike Leake (R) (9-11, 3.59 ERA) v STL: Justin Masterson (R) (6-7, 5.58 ERA)<\/strong>
\n Date\/Time: 8:15 pm ET Monday, August 18, 2014<\/strong>
\n Venue: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri<\/strong>
\n Broadcast: LOCAL<\/strong>
\n MLB Odds: -150 Cardinals<\/strong>
\n MLB Odds Total: 7.5<\/strong>
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The Reds (61-63) are also in the running for a post-season spot, but they will need to regroup quickly arriving late after they were swept in doubleheader in Colorado.<\/p>\n
Cincinnati is 3-7 in their last 10 games, and has slipped to 4 1\/2 games behind San Francisco for the second wild-card spot in the NL. They are 29-34 on the road, and are hitting .244. The offense may get a bit of a boost though, as the Reds expect to return star second baseman Brandon Phillips who has been out since July 10 with a thumb injury.<\/p>\n
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Meanwhile, St. Louis (66-57) is 5-5 in their last 10 games and increased its wild-card lead to 2 1\/2 games while remaining three behind Milwaukee in the NL Central with a 7-6 victory over San Diego on Sunday.
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\nThe Cardinals are 36-26 at home and are hitting .251. The pitching staff has been solid of late and will send starter Justin Masterson to the hill on Monday.<\/p>\nThe right-hander is making his fourth start since being traded to St. Louis, where he has a 2-1 record and a 6.00 ERA.<\/p>\n
Masterson allowed three hits and struck out three in seven shutout innings of a 5-2 victory at Miami in his last outing, and is 3-2 with a 2.86 ERA in five starts against Cincinnati.<\/p>\n
Cincinatto will counter with Mike Leake, who has lost his last two turns.<\/p>\n
Leake has allowed 66 earned runs over 165.2 innings for a 9-11 record and a 3.59 ERA this season, but did post a 4-0 victory in St. Louis on April 9. The right-hander is coming off a 5-4 setback to Boston on Wednesday after losing to Miami 2-1.<\/p>\n
MLB Betting Trends<\/h3>\n
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- CIN are 5-14 in their last 19 road games.<\/li>\n
- Under is 6-2 in STL last 8 home games.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
MLB Notes:<\/h3>\n
1. Cardinals OF Jon Jay, who was hit by four pitches in a five at-bat span Friday and Saturday, is 12-for-24 with two homers and nine RBIs during a nine-game hitting streak.
\n2. Reds closer Aroldis Chapman, who has 26 saves in 28 chances, walked all four batters he faced in the ninth inning of Sunday’s opener in a non-save situation and all scored as Drew Stubbs belted a three-run walk-off homer against J.J. Hoover to give Colorado a 10-9 victory.
\n3. Holliday was given Sunday off to rest his ailing knee after going 0-for-18 in his previous five games.<\/p>\nMatt\u2019s Free Prediction: Cardinals \u2013<\/h3>\n
St. Louis is 7-2 in their last nine home games while the Reds are 2-5 in Leake\u2019s last seven starts and 2-5 in their last seven games against St. Louis.<\/p>\n
With the double header on Sunday and Leake on the mound, I like Cardinals chances here.<\/p>\n