The St. Louis Cardinals head to our Nations Capital to play a three game set with the Washington Nationals beginning with Tuesday's opener (7:05 PM ET) at Nationals Park. The Cardinals trot ace Jaime Garcia to the mound hoping the left-hander can break the clubs three-game losing streak. Countering for the Nationals is right-hander Yunesky Maya.
With Garcia and Maya scheduled as Tuesday's starters, most MLB Odds shops list St. Louis as -145 favorites on the offshore moneyline with a 8-run (over/under) total. Nats backers will be getting +125 ML odds as home underdogs.
Garcia (6-2, 3.20 ERA) dropped two of his last three outings after a string of four consecutive wins propelled him through the month of May. Garcia hasn't lasted more than five innings in three of his past four outings. Maya (0-1, 5.40 ERA) pitched his best game of the season, allowing a run on four hits over six innings against the Giants. Maya ended up with a no-decision.
The Cardinals fell victim to the Milwaukee Brewers over the weekend losing all three games in a series at Miller Park. St. Louis went into the series with a 2 1/2 game lead in the NL Central Division and left in second place by a half game. With Monday's loss to Chicago, the Brewers and Cardinals are now tied for the division lead.
The Nationals are in last-place in the NL East but only 10 games off the pace of the 1st-place Philadelphia Phillies. While the Cardinals were victims of a series sweep at Milwaukee, the Nats return home after sweeping the San Diego Padres on the road.
The Cardinals are favored to win the series, listed across the MLB Odds board at -140 while Nats backers are getting +110 as series underdogs.
