Two division leaders faceoff this week in an early-season showdown as the New York Mets (12-5) continue their road trip against the St. Louis Cardinals (9-5). The Cardinals are coming off a 6-3 road trip to Milwaukee, Miami, and Cincinnati as they start a seven-game homestand.
Monday’s series opener is set for 7:45 p.m. E.T. at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, airing on regional sports networks and on MLB Network.
The Mets will start RHP Max Scherzer (3-0, 2.50) against Cardinals RHP Miles Mikolas (1-0, 1.76). Last year the teams split a four-game set at Busch Stadium, and St. Louis took all three in New York. St. Louis is 10-4 over the last three seasons in the series, and the Mets last won a season series in 2014.
Scherzer Looks to Keep it Going
The Mets are 7-3 on the road after taking two-of-three in Arizona over the weekend. They have won every series they have played this season though this will be their first series against a NL Central team. They have not allowed more than five runs in any of the last ten games since a 9-6 win at Philadelphia on April 13.
The Mets scored five runs in the last four innings on Sunday to win 6-2. Francisco Lindor had two hits and a RBI while J.D. Davis hit his first home run of the season. Starling Marte also drove in a run with a double and stole a base.
Lindor is batting .312 with 12 RBI on the season, and he leads the team with four home runs. Pete Alonso has 16 RBI and three homers, while Marte has driven in 13. Eduardo Escobar has seven doubles on the season, and the Mets have 40 extra-base hits in 17 games.
Scherzer, a Missouri native, won at Busch Stadium last September with the Dodgers, throwing eight shutout innings and striking out 13. He is 3-0 this season with wins over the Giants, Phillies, and Nationals, striking out 23 batters in 18 innings. On Tuesday, he allowed just one hit and struck out ten over seven innings in beating San Francisco.
Corey Dickerson has the most success against Scherzer, going 5-for-12 with a home run, and he’s likely to start over Albert Pujols (1-for-12) at DH. Tommy Edman has four hits and a home run against Scherzer, while Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado are a combined 7-for-42 with no homers against the righty.
Cardinals Return Home in First Place
The Cardinals are 3-1 at home this season, and they haven’t played a home game in nearly two weeks. St Louis has allowed more than five runs just twice this season, and they have scored at least five runs on seven occasions. The offense was held to just one run on seven hits in Sunday’s loss at Cincinnati.
Edman has hit safely in 12 of 14 starts this season and is batting .313 atop the Cardinals lineup with three home runs. Arenado was hitless Sunday but is batting .364 with five homers and 14 RBI on the season. Goldschmidt is off to a slow start at .236 with no home runs, but he collected two hits Sunday.
Geovany Gallegos has four saves for the Cardinals, while Ryan Helsley has taken over the eighth-inning role with three holds. They have combined to allow just one run this season in a combined 11 ⅔ innings, solidifying the St. Louis bullpen.
Mikolas took a no-decision at Miami on Wednesday, allowing four hits over five shutout innings while striking out five. He went just 3⅔ innings in his lone home start this season, allowing two runs on six hits against Pittsburgh on April 9. Mikolas has just one career start against the Mets, winning at home with eight innings of work on April 20, 2019.
Alonso, Escobar and J.D. Davis are a combined 0-for-13 against Mikolas. Robinson Cano is 2-for-6, and Starling Marte is 5-for-32 with two RBI. No current Mets player has a home run against the Cardinals starter.
Betting Analysis
- New York Mets -1.5 run line (+125). -135 Moneyline
- St. Louis Cardinals +1.5 (-145). +115 Moneyline
- Run Total: 6.5. Over -125. Under +105.
This game has pitchers dual written all over it with two starters off to great starts to the season, and both teams have strong bullpens. Both offenses have the ability to score in bunches, but so far, this season have been mostly home runs or nothing. Scoring early will be key to this one but look for the runs to be at a premium.
Betting Pick: Under 6.5 runs (+105)
Keep up with your latest MLB news coverage and betting pick previews at NJ Sportsbook.