From Busch Stadium in St. Louis, we have the Rangers and Cardinals facing off in an interleague matchup. This one is getting started at 2:15 PM ET and is being televised by BSSW.
Andrew Heaney gets the start for the Rangers, and he is facing off against Michael McGreevy for the Cardinals. The Rangers are 3rd in the AL West, while the Cardinals are 2nd in the NL Central. The money line odds have the Rangers at -108 compared to the Cardinals at -109. The over/under line is at 9 runs.
Texas vs. St. Louis Matchup At A Glance
- Teams: Rangers at Cardinals
- Where: Busch Stadium St. Louis
- Date: Wednesday, July 31st
- Betting Odds STL -109 | TEX -108 O/U 9
Rangers vs Cardinals Last Game Recap
It was all St. Louis in the last game of this series, as the Cardinals took down the Rangers by a score of 8-1. The Cardinals offense only had two more hits than the Rangers and struck out seven times, but still picked up a convincing win. Heading into the game, they were at +105 on the money line.
Rangers starter Max Scherzer only went four innings and gave up three earned runs on four hits. He did finish the game with five strikeouts but took the loss. Lance Lynn put together a good outing for the Cardinals, getting the win after going five innings and giving up just one earned run.
Tommy Pham and Masyn Winn each homered for the Cardinals, while Brandon Crawford went 2/4 with an RBI. Wyatt Langford hit the game's only other home run for the Rangers, going 1/4.
Rangers Preview
When the Rangers are the favorite, they have a 34-25 straight-up record, and they are 26-23 against the run line as underdogs. Texas is 15-18-1 in series this year, and they have a 6-4 record in their last 10 games. Overall, their games have averaged 8.5 runs, and the over has hit in 13% of their games.
Currently, the Rangers are 3rd in the AL West with a 52-56 record, 4.5 games behind the Mariners. On the road, they have a 23-33 record, while at home, they are 29-23. For the season, Texas is 47-61 against the run line, with an average run margin of 0.0 runs per game.
Left-hander Andrew Heaney gets the start for the Rangers today as he faces the Cardinals on the road. He has made 20 starts this season and has a record of 4-10 with an ERA of 3.77. Heaney's WHIP for the season is currently 1.26. In his last outing, he finished with a no-decision, giving up four earned runs in five innings of work. Before that, he had picked up the win and didn't give up a run in five innings of work. Heaney has made five quality starts this season and is averaging 9 strikeouts per nine innings.
Corey Seager has been swinging a hot bat for the Rangers of late, going 12/35 in his last nine games with a home run and two RBIs. For the season, he is batting .273 and is 12th in the league with 19 homers. Adolis Garcia also has 18 homers this season but is batting just .211. Marcus Semien has gone deep 15 times this season and is batting .243.
As a team, the Rangers are 17th in the league in scoring at 4.2 runs per game. They are also just 16th in home runs and have a team batting average of .240. Texas comes into the game with a team on-base percentage of .310 and a slugging percentage of .380.
Cardinals Preview
St. Louis has an over/under record of 8-7-1 in games with a total of 9 runs, and their overall O/U record is 51-53. The Cardinals are 55-52 for the season, six games behind the Brewers in the NL Central. Their series record is 17-14-3, and they have split the first two games vs. the Rangers.
On the run line, the Cardinals are 34-18 as underdogs and 19-36 as favorites, with an overall record of 53-54. Their average run differential is -0.4 runs per game, and they have been outscored by that margin both at home and on the road.
Michael McGreevy takes the mound for the Cardinals in today's game versus the Rangers. It's his opportunity to start the season on the right foot, as this will be his first outing of the year.
So far this season, the Cardinals offense is averaging 4.1 runs per game, which is 23rd in the league. They have been slightly better at home, averaging 4.3 runs per game. As a team, they are batting .245, which is 11th in the league, and have the 17th ranked slugging percentage in the league. St. Louis has been pretty good at putting the ball in play this season, as their team BABIP of .29 is 9th in the league.
Heading into the game, Alec Burleson is the team's leading hitter, with a batting average of .282, and he also leads the team with 61 RBIs and is 2nd on the team with 18 homers. Nolan Gorman is just batting .202 this season but is 12th in the league with 19 home runs. Over his last 10 games, Paul Goldschmidt has three homers and is hitting .256.
Rangers vs. Cardinals Prediction: Cardinals ML -109
Our prediction for this Rangers vs. Cardinals matchup is to take the Cardinals on the money line at -109. We have the Cardinals winning this one by a final score of 6-5. With the over/under sitting at 9 runs, there is some room to take the over, but we are sticking with the Cardinals on the money line.
Looking at the starting pitchers, Andrew Heaney is projected to finish with six strikeouts, which is the fifth-best among starters today. As for his chances of picking up a win, they are among the worst. However, his projected earned runs is among the best, with him finishing with four hits allowed.
