Miami Marlins vs St. Louis Cardinals

Most expected this to be a long season for Miami, and the Marlins check into this game with a woeful 24-49 record. This is also a bad team that is playing even worse, going an ugly 3-13 in their laast 16 games. St. Louis has been playing at a much higher level after an unexpectedly slow start. The Cardinals stand in as a .500 team and are certainly in the wildcard race in the NL. The Cards are 5-2 in their last seven games, and look for revenge off a one-run loss here last night. Make the play on St. Louis.

The St. Louis offense is 27th in runs scored and 24th in on-base percentage. They're on a 9-3 run UNDER the total, plus 37-22 UNDER on the road after playing three or more straight road games. At least starter Lance Lynn is throwing well, with a 2.75 ERA on the road. They've won his last three starts. The Cardinals are 14-2 when Lynn starts against an NL team averaging 3.5 or fewer runs. Miami's offense is worse, 29th in runs scored and on-base percentage, plus last in slugging. The Marlins have lost six in a row along with a 2-12 run and are 12-26 at home. They've lost the last three starts made by Roddery Munoz (4.56 ERA). The Marlins are 15-33 after a loss, including 4-16 after three or more straight defeats. Two Max Plays here: Take St. Louis (Max), and bet this game UNDER the total (Max). 

The Miami Marlins knew this would be a long season, but perhaps not quite as bad as it has become. The Marlins are just 23-48 on the season. The Marlins will carry a five game losing streak into this game. The Marlins offensive woes, are near rock bottom. Miami has scored just four total runs in their last four games. The Cardinals have been horrible offensively, but getting very solid pitching. It has led to the fact that the Cardinals have played six straight games to the UNDER. Better than that none of those games saw both teams score more than seven runs. It looks like both teams trending UNDER for this one. Make the play UNDER the total.

Miami has lost nine in a row to start the new season. The pitching staff ranks 26th in ERA (5.42) and 29th in WHIP, the defense is 28th in fielding percentage, while the offense is 29th in on-base percentage. The Marlins are 17-42 versus NL teams allowing 4.0 or fewer runs per game. Meanwhile, St. Louis is No. 1 in fielding percentage and has won six of eight. They're home for the third straight game after winning the first two of this series, 8-5 and 3-1. Starter Kyle Gibson (2.57 ERA) comes off an impressive performance in a 6-2 victory at San Diego. His teams are 74-41 when he starts against teams that draw 3 or fewer walks per contest. Play St. Louis. 

Miami almost got its first win on Thursday as it was leading 5-3, but St. Louis scored five times in the seventh inning to win 8-5. The Marlins will turn to Trevor Rogers, who has a 2.70 ERA in two career starts against the Cardinals. Miami has several injuries to its pitching staff, but St. Louis also some key players out, including Tommy Edman, Matt Carpenter, Lars Nootbaar and Dylan Carlson. The Cardinals will start Steven Matz, who gave up two runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings against the Dodgers on Sunday. Matz is 4-4 with a 3.44 ERA in 12 starts against the Marlins. St. Louis is only 36-46 its past 82 home games and 33-40 overall against teams with losing records dating to last season. Take the Marlins to get their first victory.