Philadelphia Phillies (48-43) at St. Louis Cardinals (51-41)
7:05 PM ET on EPSN
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Starting Pitchers
PHI: K. Kendrick (5-3, 4.44)
STL: B. Hawksworth (3-5, 4.72)
After an impressive four game sweep of Los Angeles Dodgers, the Cardinals moved into first place for the first time since June 29 in the NL Central standings, and improved their record to 10 games over .500. The last time St. Louis was 11 games above .500 was last season when it finished a division-best 91-71.
Now they will set their sites on winning six straight at home, something they haven’t done since August 2009, when they open a four-game home series against a Philadelphia Phillies team that’s been struggling offensively, losing seven of its last nine on the road.
The Phillies have been nothing short of inconsistent, hitting in spurts one game and then falling silent the next.
Philadelphia first baseman Ryan Howard, who has four home runs and eight RBIs in the last four games, will look to reverse the team’s current batting slump while improving his own cold streak against his hometown team.
The perennial slugger went an dreadful 3 for 15 with seven strikeouts as the Phillies won three of four at home versus the Cardinals back in May, but has fared much better at Busch Stadium, hitting .381 with seven homers and 29 RBIs in 17 career games. Howard is hitting .298 with 21 home runs –one away from tying for the NL lead –and a league-best 73 RBIs overall.
Philadelphia will look to get back on track with Kyle Kendrick toeing the rubber. The righty pitched one inning of relief in Thursday night’s loss to the Cubs, allowing one hit in a scoreless inning of work. He threw 10 pitches, eight for strikes, while making only his second relief appearance of the year. It yet to be seen how this will effect Kendrick, who has made 17 starts this season, but hadn’t pitched since July 8. In one start against St. Louis this season, Kendrick pitched seven scoreless innings and walked away with the win. He is 4-0 with a 1.67 ERA in four career starts versus St. Louis.
Looking to end its losing streak to Philadelphia, the Cardinals will give the ball to Blake Hawksworth. The right-hander went 5 1-3 innings in a 4-2 win at Houston on July 11, giving up two runs and seven hits. He has pitched okay in his five starts since joining the rotation in late June. This will be Hawksworth’s first start against Philadelphia.
Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols who missed Sunday’s contest against LA, will likely return to the lineup in time for Monday’s game.
The odds makers have the Cardinals –1-½ – favorites with a run total of 9.
The safe bet here is the Cardinals behind a solid effort from Kendrick who should stymie the Phillies offense, and the UNDER.
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I am a the biggest fan of the Phillies so i really enjoyed reading your article about the Philadelphia Phillies. I was lucky i got tickets for the up coming baseball game for Citizens Bank Park.