Interleague action begins on Friday and one of the more interesting matchups in baseball gambling has the St. Louis Cardinals hosting the Los Angeles Angels. It is the first game of a three-game series in MLB gambling between the two teams. The pitching matchup on Friday night could be an excellent one. Joel Pineiro pitches for the Angels against his former team while Brad Penny gets the start for St. Louis. Pineiro is 3-4 this season with a 3.71 ERA while Penny is 3-4 with a 2.73 ERA.
Pineiro is coming off his best performance of the season as he shutout the A’s on Sunday. He gave up just four hits and a walk while striking out five. It was his sixth career shutout. He is 1-1 with a 1.13 ERA in two career starts against the Cardinals. He’s 13-8 with a 3.29 ERA at Busch Stadium. Penny is coming off probably his worst start of the year. He got hit hard last time out. He threw more than 100 pitches just to get through five innings.
The Angels and Cardinals have not played very often. In fact, they have met just six times, the most recent in 2007. They have never met in Anaheim with all of their previous meetings in St. Louis. The teams have split their six meetings. The three in 2007 all went over the total.
The Angels still get a lot of respect from the oddsmakers but so far this season they have done nothing to warrant it. The Angels are below .500 and on the road they have been very weak. Their offense is below average and their pitching which is normally solid, is also below average. Taking the Angels is a little bit risky right now.
The Cardinals were rolling along and then they got swept at home by the lowly Astros and they have not been the same since. They even fell out of first place in the National League Central. The pitching has been good, ranking in the top 5 in the league but the hitting has gone south. Not even Albert Pujols has been able to carry the offense this season. The Cardinals are still good though and they are favored on Friday against the Angels. Penny has been pitching well even though is last start was a struggle so St. Louis is going to get some play in this game even though it is Pineiro pitching against his former team.