TipResumen

PREVIEW

We have gotten to that part of the 2018 Major League Baseball season when games begin to matter all the more for those teams chasing a Play Off spot and those who lose their way. The St Louis Cardinals (58-55) are 7.5 games out of the lead in the National League Central and they are also 4.5 games off the Wild Card spots in the League which means they can't afford to drop series like this one. To win the series the St Louis Cardinals will have to win the remaining two games against the Miami Marlins (47-67) after the latter won the Monday evening opener. The Cardinals stranded too many runners on base in that game and the 2-1 loss would have hurt, but they have a pitcher going to the mound who can at least help them level this series before the Wednesday night potential decider. Miles Mikolas is going to be given the ball for St Louis and he has a very strong 11-3 record and a 2.75 ERA in 2018, a number which could have been even better considering the number of quality starts the pitcher has given the Cardinals. He comes into this one having given up just a couple of runs through 7 innings pitched and Mikolas also pitched well against Miami once this season. Mikolas gave up just a single unearned run against the Marlins and he has been strong enough for St Louis to help them win five of the last six games he has started for them. The Miami Marlins will know they need to see the good side of Pablo Lopez when he goes to the mound if they are going to get the better of the strong pitcher St Louis are sending up. Lopez has a 2-2 record with a 4.67 ERA in 2018 and his inconsistencies are highlighted by the fact he has given up a single run in two of his last three but who has given up at least four runs in half of his six starts for the Marlins. The pitcher has had some of his difficulties at home where Lopez has a 1-2 record with a 5.60 ERA in his three starts here as he prepares to face the Cardinals for the first time.



PREDICTION

It is hard to completely trust the St Louis Cardinals at the prices considering the way they have been up and down all season, but they look to have a significant edge on the mound. If the Cardinals can get after rookie Pablo Lopez a little bit, I would anticipate they win this one with Miles Mikolas expected to give the Cardinals another strong showing on the mound