Cardinals vs Mets | Preview, Odds, Free Pick

St. Louis Cardinals (55-45) at New York Mets (51-49)
7:10 PM ET on ESPN
FREE Expert MLB Picks

Starting Pitchers
STL: J. García (9-4, 2.21)
NYM: H. Takahashi (7-5, 4.52)

The New York Mets put a terrible road trip behind them on Tuesday when they opened a three-games series at Citi Field, erupting for eight runs, the most they have tallied in 16 games, in an 8-2 win over the NL-leading St. Louis Cardinals.

With frustration mounting over the Mets anemic offense, the team returned to New York, a place where they have fared well (30-16), following a 2-9 away stretch that was highlighted by an offense that hit an anemic .196 and scored just 23 runs while getting shutout four times.

Jeff Francoeur hit a three-run homer and Jose Reyes added a two-run shot and the Mets handed the NL Central leaders their fourth loss in five games, while breaking out of their recent offensive slump. Now they will try to carry that momentum into game two on Wednesday night.

The Mets will hand the ball to Hisanori Takahashi, whose recent ineffectiveness has led New York to question whether Takahashi could remain in the rotation. The lefty allowed two runs over seven innings, in Thursday’s 2-0 loss to the Dodgers, in which his view was significantly brighter. He has faced the Cardinals only once, allowing one run in two innings and a 1.50 ERA.

St. Louis will counter by sending Jaime Garcia to the mound. With the extra day of rest, the southpaw will be coming off six days between starts. He is 3-1 in his last four including a 5-1 win of Philadelphia last week. Garcia surrendered just a single run on four hits will striking out six and waling two over seven innings of work. He has a no decision in one career start against the Mets, where he went seven innings giving up one hit and no runs while striking out five.

Cards slugger Albert Pujols, who is batting .300 with two home runs and six RBIs since the start of the second half, went 0 for 5, stranding five runners in Tuesday’s opener. Outfielder Ryan Ludwick (.276), was 2-for-4, with an RBI single, while team leader Matt Holliday has gone just 4-for-18 over his last five outings.

The odds makers have the Mets at –1-½ – favorites with a run total of 6 ½.

With the Cardinals recent slide and the Mets breaking out offensively to get their 17th win in their last 24 at home. I have to go with New York and the OVER.

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St. Louis Cardinals Betting Trends:

• The total has gone UNDER in 4 of St. Louis’s last 6 games
• St. Louis is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games
• St. Louis is 9-4 SU in its last 13 games
• St. Louis is 3-8 SU in its last 11 games on the road

New York Mets Betting Trends:

• The total has gone UNDER in 5 of NY Mets’s last 7 games
• NY Mets are 2-6 SU in its last 8 games
• NY Mets are 17-7 SU in its last 24 games at home
• The total has gone UNDER in 5 of NY Mets’s last 6 games at home