Fri 26 Jul, 2019, 8:15 PM (EDT)
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Houston Astros - 7/26/19 MLB Pick, Odds, and Prediction
By: Andrew
Houston Astros at St. Louis Cardinals
Friday July 26, 2019, 8:15 PM (EDT)
St. Louis Cardinals -112 / Houston Astros +112 O/U: 9
ATSW, FSMW
The Houston Astros and the St. Louis Cardinals will match up for game one of their weekend MLB set on Friday.
Houston is fresh off a series versus the A's this week. The Astros fell on Tuesday 4-3, but took the set with wins on Monday 11-1 and Wednesday 4-2.
For Friday's game, the Astros will be sending out Jose Urquidy to start. Across 13.0 innings and a 1-0 record this year, Urquidy has a 5.54 ERA with 17 Ks and 1 walk.
Over on the Cardinals' side, they just finished up against the Pirates. St. Louis won the first three games of that set 6-5, 4-3 and 14-8. In the Thursday finale, the Cardinals bagged the sweep with a 6-3 win.
For Friday's opener, the Cardinals are sending out Jack Flaherty for the start. Across 108.1 innings and a 4-6 mark so far, Flaherty has a 4.24 ERA with 122 Ks and 37 BBs.
The Astros are 23-8 in their last 31 after an off day and 51-21 in their last 72 in game one of a series. Houston is 42-18 in their last 60 Friday games and 1-6 in their last seven versus the NL Central.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals are 4-1 in their last five in game one of a series and 4-1 in their last five home games. St. Louis is 1-5 in Flaherty's last six starts and 1-5 in his last six home starts.
Urquidy has a pretty limited set of stats to gather from this year, but in essence he's had one good start (one earned; two hits; 7.0 innings), one "blah" start (two earned; six hits; 3.2 innings) and one bad start (five earned; eight hits; 2.1 innings).
As for Flaherty, he's given up just two earned in his last three starts over 18.1 innings but hasn't gotten a win since way back on May 14. Given that, it makes more sense to me to take the Astros here.
Houston Astros +102
@SCPAndrew
Andrew has been with Sports Chat Place since 2012, contributing to football, baseball and basketball across the fantasy, college and professional ranks. His goal is to break down the complicated trends and numbers into a language that's accessible even if you're not a seasoned sports bettor, providing comprehensive insight that can apply to just about everyone. Follow Andrew on Twitter for links to his latest Sports Chat Place picks.
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