National League Central rivals St. Louis Cardinals and Houston Astros wrap up a three-game series with the rubber game starting 8:10 p.m. ET at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Astros reliable ace RHP Roy Oswalt (4-4, 5.61 ERA) will toe the rubber for Houston while the Cardinals will counter with RHP Kyle Lohse (4-2, 4.26 ERA). The second place Cardinals need to hold off the Astros who trail them third in the standings by a single game. The Cardinals trail the division leading Chicago Cubs by one and a half games.
Oddsmakers at online sports betting giant Bodog (Bodoglife.com) currently have the Cardinals listed as 107-moneyline favorites versus the Astros, while the game's total is sitting at 8½.
Oswalt didn't fare well in his first start since suffering inflammation in his right hip, allowing five runs in a loss to the Phillies. Oswalt yielded 11 hits, the fourth time this year he's allowed double-digits in hits. The right-hander faced the Cardinals earlier this year on April 26, taking a no-decision after yielding three runs over six innings. He walked three and struck out five.
Lohse comes back home, where he's been pitching very well so far this year. He has a 3.48 ERA in seven starts at Busch Stadium, with 20 strikeouts against just eight walks. He turned in an excellent performance against the Astros at Busch Stadium earlier this year, and he'll be trying to do it again. He's coming off a pair of solid starts in a row.
The Cardinals scored early in the game and went on to defeat the Astros 6-1 as -145 favorites on Wednesday. The seven runs fell UNDER the posted over/under (8).
Yadier Molina went 2-for-4 at the plate with two RBIs for the Cardinals. Adam Wainwright gave up one run off three hits over eight innings in the win.
Ty Wigginton homered in a losing effort for the Astros, who were +135 underdogs. Wandy Rodriguez gave up six runs off six hits over 4 2-3 innings.
Point-Spreads.com MLB Picks: Cardinals ML
