The red-hot Brewers go for a series sweep of the Cardinals at Busch Stadium, with Milwaukee’s Braden Looper (3-2, 4.70 ERA) slated to oppose Kyle Lohse (3-2, 4.25) in an N.L. East clash.
Friday’s series opener was rained out, but the Brewers have since posted victories of 1-0 on Saturday and 8-2 on Sunday to run their winning streak to five in a row. Additionally, Milwaukee has won 11 of its last 13 and is 19-5 in its last 24 outings, going 9-2 on the road during this surge. The Brew Crew are on further streaks of 5-1 as an underdog, 13-3 against teams with a winning record and 9-2 versus N.L. Central foes.
St. Louis has now dropped six of its last eight games (all against the N.L. East) and nine of its last 13, and the team is 1-6 in its last seven against winning teams. Still, the Redbirds sport positive streaks of 18-6 at Busch Stadium and 21-7 as a home chalk.
In taking the first two meetings of the season series, Milwaukee continues to own this rivalry, going 9-1 in the last 10 clashes overall and 8-1 in its last nine games in St. Louis.
Looper earned an 8-6 home victory in his most recent outing Wednesday against the Marlins, despite surrendering five earned runs in six innings. Since starting the season 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA in his first four starts (all Milwaukee wins), Looper is 1-2 with a 7.71 ERA in his last three outings. The veteran right-hander is 1-1 with a 4.82 ERA in two road starts in 2009.
Lohse’s season has taken the same arc as Looper’s, as the right-hander went 3-0 with a 1.97 ERA in his first five starts, but he’s since given up 13 runs (all earned) on 16 hits (three home runs) over 10 1/3 innings in his last two outings, losing 6-1 to the Phillies at home and 8-3 to the Reds on the road. Despite the loss to Philadelphia, Lohse is still 3-1 with 3.20 ERA in four starts at Busch Stadium.
Looper, who pitched for St. Louis from 2007-2009, has faced his former mates 16 times, all in relief, and he’s delivered 17 consecutive scoreless innings while notching three saves. Meanwhile, Lohse is 3-3 with a 5.22 ERA in 11 career appearances (10 starts) against the Brewers. Last year, Lohse faced Milwaukee three times and posted a 4.26 ERA, with St. Louis losing all three games.
Although Sunday’s game barely crept over the posted total, the under is still 5-2-1 in the last eight meetings between these division rivals and 6-2-1 in the last nine battles at Busch Stadium. Also, St. Louis carries “under” trends of 4-1 overall (all against divisional opponents) 4-2 at home, 4-1 on Monday and 5-1 as a favorite. Finally, the Brewers are on “under” streaks of 7-3 as a road underdog and 6-1 in the third game of a series, though the over is 5-1 in their last six road games and 4-0 in their last four on Monday.
ATS ADVANTAGE: UNDER
N.Y. Mets (21-16) at L.A. Dodgers (26-13)
After completing a successful first road trip without suspended slugger Manny Ramirez, the Dodgers return home to greet the Mets in the opener of a three-game series. Tim Redding is scheduled to make his 2009 debut and be matched up against L.A.’s Randy Wolf (2-1, 2.77).
The Dodgers started their six-game journey with a 5-3 loss at Philadelphia, but rebounded to win four of the last five contests, including Sunday’s 12-5 rout of the Marlins in which young left-hander Clayton Kershaw took a no-hitter into the eighth inning. Despite not having Ramirez, Los Angeles averaged 6.3 runs per game on the trip. Joe Torre’s club enters this contest on a slew of positive runs, including 23-10 overall, 40-14 at Dodger Stadium (14-3 this season), 17-6 following a victory, 21-10 on Mondays and 35-16 as a favorite.
New York came up short in its attempt for a four-game weekend sweep in San Francisco, losing 2-0 to the Giants on Sunday night to snap a three-game overall and five-game road winning streak. The Mets remain on impressive runs of 11-3 overall, 4-0 after a loss, 23-10 as an underdog and 13-4 against the N.L. West.
New York won four of the final five meetings against the Dodgers last year and is 9-5 in the last 14 head-to-head battles, including 4-3 at Dodger Stadium.
Wolf was fantastic in Wednesday’s contest in Philadelphia, scattering a run on three hits and three walks over six innings while striking out eight en route to a 9-2 road victory that snapped a sting of five consecutive no-decisions. Los Angeles is 8-2 in Wolf’s last 10 home starts and 8-3 in his last 11 as a favorite, including his first go-round with the team in 2007. This season, the veteran southpaw has yet to record a decision in three home outings, posting a 2.60 ERA in 17 1/3 innings.
Wolf has made 28 career starts against the Mets, going 11-5 with a 3.34 ERA. The 28 starts and 11 victories are the most for Wolf against any opponent, as are his 149 strikeouts and 175 innings.
Redding’s season has been delayed because of a shoulder injury. Last year with the Nationals, he went 10-11 with a 4.95 ERA in 33 starts, including 4-4 with a 4.23 ERA in 15 road games. The right-hander is 1-3 with a 5.64 ERA in six career appearances (four starts) against the Dodgers. However, the one victory came last year when he was with Washington and yielded three runs (all solo homers) in six innings of a 5-4 home win.
New York is riding “over” streaks of 9-2 overall, 6-2-1 on the road, 35-16-8 as an underdog, 24-9-4 as a road pup, 6-1-1 against the N.L. West and 6-0 when facing a southpaw starter. Similarly, the Dodgers are on “over” stretches of 16-5-1 against right-handed starters, 8-3-1 versus the N.L. East, 26-12-3 on Monday and 5-0 when Wolf faces N.L. East foes. Lastly, the over is 9-3-1 in the last 13 series meetings between these clubs at Dodger Stadium.
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