St. Louis Cardinals vs. Washington Nationals Betting Predictions: July 23rd 2009

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Washington Nationals - July 23 2009 7:05PM
Prediction: St Louis Cardinals
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Reason: I’ve gone 3-0 with the Nationals in their last six games, backing them in each of their last two games (both wins over the Mets) as well as successfully playing them on the run-line in a game they lost by one run. I expect their current “run” to come to an end this evening though.

Washington’s last two victories came against a banged-up sub-500 Mets team. Tonight, the Nats will be stepping up in class though, as they’ll take on the Central Division leading Cardinals. They’ll also be facing Adam Wainwright, a pitcher with 10 wins on the season and a 1.60 ERA over his last five starts.

The Nats likely would have had a better shot at competing if scheduled starter Zimmerman was able to go. However, he’s been scratched and Collin Balester will take his place. You may recall that Balester went just 3-7 with a poor 5.51 ERA in 15 starts for Washington last year. This season, he’s been pitching at Triple-A and has gone just 7-9 with a 4.35 ERA in 19 starts for Syracuse.

Wainwright has delivered a “quality start” in all three of his career starts vs. Washington, recording a 2.86 ERA. He hasn’t faced the Nats this season and only did once last year. In that game, he allowed two runs over eight complete innings. Including that victory, the Cards have won seven of the last nine in this series. Consider St. Louis.