Cardinals vs Rangers Betting Odds Preview: A Must-Watch MLB Matchup
Cardinals fall further out of NL Central race, Rangers sweep Seattle; extend lead in West
Before we get deep into both teams and starters, we start our Cardinals vs. Rangers betting odds preview. We peek at each team’s MLB divisional standings, which shows how critical this series is to the Redbirds.
The Cardinals dropped all three games to the Pittsburgh Pirates this weekend after winning 15 of their last 23 games. The Cards trail the Milwaukee Brewers by 7 ½ games. Texas comes in rolling, winning 20 of their previous 27. MLB odds have the Rangers as -130 game-one favorites.
Cardinals Swept By Bucs; First Time In Five Years
Listening to the Peacock coverage early Sunday morning, former Cardinal great Albert Pujols talked about how much he loved coming to Pittsburgh while making his debut as a broadcaster. Veteran Pirates color analyst and former pitcher Bob Walk quickly noted that the Hall of Famer would crush Pirates pitching.
Since 2014, St. Louis has been 98-64 (.605) +1201 units against Pittsburgh since the 2014 MLB season. They have not lost a season series against the Bucs since 2013. You can imagine how surprised they must have been to have lost a winnable series against a team that has scuffled but has failed to go away as many predicted they would.
St. Louis was handed a sweep and now travels to Arlington to face the best offense in baseball after putting up 30 runs in their weekend sweep of the Seattle Mariners. The last place cards will look to veteran Adam Wainwright (2-1, 6.15 era) to keep within shouting distance of Milwaukee.
Wainwright will go about five innings, considering he has pitched into the sixth since September 20th at San Diego. The handicapping comes in when it’s likely that the Rangers’ offense will get four innings against a mediocre Cardinals bullpen. Let’s continue our Cardinals vs. Rangers betting odds preview with a look at Texas.
Rangers Excel In Every Category
Marcus Semien extended his hitting streak to a season-best 23 games, while Nathan Eovaldi pitched six innings of one-hit ball, leading the Texas Rangers to a 12-3 win over the Seattle Mariners. Texas scored 30 runs in the three-game sweep; it was the third time in five games that Texas scored at least 10 runs.
Overall it was the 16th time in 58 games that Texas slapped up 10 or more runs, the best mark in the Majors. Martin Perez (6-1, 4.43 era) gets that ball Monday. Perez has needed every bit of his teams’ weaponry on offense of late, even though the righty has won four of his last five outings. In his last 27.1 innings, the 32-year-old Venezuelan has given up 21 earned runs and 36 hits.
The rest of his numbers aren’t great either, with six homers allowed to go with 11 walks and 18 k’s. This wasn’t against the best of the league either, with teams like the Oakland Athletics, Detroit Tigers, and Colorado Rockies as recent additions to his resume. It may look like an easy selection for a handicapper, but will Perez’s struggles keep us away? Let’s conclude our Cardinals vs. Rangers betting odds preview with our official selection.
Baseball Betting Does Not Require Overthinking
In addition to the Cardinals’ recent slide, Texas has been kind to the club over the years, with eight losses in their last nine meetings, including losing four of five in Arlington. One of the reasons for St. Louis’ issues this season is their inability to win the first game of a series, dropping 21 of their last 28 series.
A lot of that has to do with the critical injuries the team seems to be constantly fighting. Lars Nootbar suffered a back injury after crashing into an outfield wall. Tyler O’Neill also suffers from a back injury, while pitcher Jake Woodford won’t return for a few weeks. We recommend laying the 1 ½ (+140) with the Texas Rangers. We wish you all the best with your Monday card.
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