Cardinals vs. Phillies Preview and Pick

The St. Louis Cardinals look to make it two wins in a row to start the season when they meet the Philadelphia Phillies in the second game of this season-opening three-game series Wednesday night in Philly.

St. Louis pounded the Phillies 13-5 in the season opener for both teams on Monday. The Cardinals tallied 17 hits and three home runs, and led 13-1 in the fifth inning. The series took a day off on Tuesday.

Wednesday’s Cardinals starter Mark Mulder went 16-8 with a 3.64 ERA last season. St. Louis went 24-11 in Mulder’s starts in 2005, and the over was 17-18 in those games.

Mulder started one game vs. Philadelphia last season, allowing four earned runs in six innings.

Phillies starter Brett Myers went 13-8 last season with an ERA of 3.72. Philly went 21-13 in Myers starts in ’05, and the over was 17-13.

Myers has made three starts vs. St. Louis over the last two seasons, allowing 26 baserunners and nine earned runs in 16 2/3 innings pitched.

The Cardinals bullpen was one of the best a season ago, compiling a 3.23 ERA and a 76% save ratio.

The Phillies bullpen, on the other hand, accumulated a 4.24 ERA in ’05 and just a 63% save percentage.

Tonight’s expected home-plate umpire, Chuck Meriwether, called 34 games behind the plate last year. Those games averaged 9.2 runs per game, and the over went 14-15.

Philadelphia has won seven of the last 13 meetings between these two teams, and the last 10 games in the series have all gone over the total.

The over was 45-34 in games played at Citizens Bank Park in 2005.

The forecast for Wednesday evening in Philadelphia calls for windy and cloudy conditions, with temps in the 40s.

St. Louis was initially posted as a –125 favorite with a total of 9 ½, but those numbers had been bet down to –115 and 8 ½ as of Wednesday afternoon.

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The Ultimatecapper Pick: We like the Phillies!