With the All-Star break coming to an end sportsbook users are excited to be able to bet on MLB regular season again. With the second half of the season on its way teams are ready to burst into the scene and prove exactly what they are made of. Two teams who are looking to earn a spot in the playoffs by taking first in their division will be facing each other Friday night. The Miami Marlins (2nd in the NL East) will be traveling to Busch Stadium to take on the St. Louis Cardinals (2nd in the NL Central) to begin a span of two weeks in which both teams will face each other seven times. Here are the odds for those eager to bet on MLB games once more:
Miami Marlins +11/2 (-175) 8 (-110) +122
St. Louis Cardinals +11/2 (-175) 8 (-110) +122
The St. Louis Cardinals are coming into Friday’s matchup with some momentum. St. Louis was able to put up 8-1 and 5-1 victories against the Milwaukee Brewers in their previous two games before entering the All-Star relief period. However, that might not be enough considering that the Cardinals have lost 10 of their previous 14 games at Busch Stadium. On top of that St. Louis is 12-14 in games in which the opposing team had a southpaw starting pitcher. Miami knows this and purposely has put on deck two left-handers for the series. With that in mind those who bet on MLB might just pick the Marlins to pull off the upset. Sportsbooks have the Cardinals as the slight favorites but there should be plenty of value with a +122 Marlins upset.
Miami comes into Friday’s ballgame tied for the NL’s second wild card spot with the New York Mets. The Marlins are seven games behind the Washing Nationals atop of the NL East and will be looking to close in on that margin by continuing their batting success. Miami’s batting average (.273) is the best in the National League and five of their hitters are above the .300 mark. Included in that list is Giancarlo Stanton who on top of winning the Home Run Derby this year has hit a Home Run in each of the previous five games. Stanton will be looking to keep that streak going against Cardinals LH Jaime Garcia, and it’s more than likely that he will. While Garcia started the season off well by allowing only three home runs in 11 trips to the mound, his last six has resulted in seven. No doubt this year’s Derby winner is watering at the mouth.
Headed to the mound for the Marlins is LH Wei-Yin Chen, due to the fact that Jose Fernandez was in the All-Star game. The 31-year old Taiwanese has found moderate success pitching on the road this season; he currently holsters a record of 4-2 with an ERA of 4.13 which is better than his ERA at home. The Marlins have been spearing their opposition lately scoring 14 run in their previous 3 games while scoring 4 or more in 7 of their previous 10 games. With all this in mind that +122 Marlins upset is starting to look even more lucrative.
