The last-place Atlanta Braves visit the first place St. Louis Cardinals Tuesday night at Busch Stadium. It is the second of a four-game series. In Game 1 on Monday, St. Louis overcame a three-run, sixth inning deficit to win 4-3, handing Atlanta their sixth consecutive loss.
The MLB betting lines list the Cardinals at -180 and the Braves at +160 with an over/under of 7.5.
The St. Louis Cardinals (12-7, 5-2 home) are off to another great start at home. First basemen Albert Pujols is a big reason for that. The three-time MVP is again off to an incredible start, tied for the NL lead with 7 home runs and in third place in both slugging percentage (.662) and OPS (1.065). Second-year center fielder Colby Rasmus has been another bright spot for the Cardinals, leading the NL in OPS (1.199) and third in OBP (.439).
The Atlanta Braves, meanwhile, are limping into this game trying to avoid their longest losing streak in four years. The last time they lost seven games in a row was when they lost ten straight in June of 2006. Over the course of their six-game skid, they have failed to put up more than three runs in any game. Their 133 hits for the season are the lowest in the NL and their 70 scored runs is the third-lowest.
Perhaps the biggest obstacle standing between Atlanta and ending their losing streak is Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter (2-0, 3.60 ERA), who will start for St. Louis. The veteran ace is coming off of two consecutive double digit strikeout games. He is 9-2 with a 2.30 ERA in his last 13 home starts.
Derek Lowe (3-1, 5.24 ERA) will start for the Braves. He will be looking for his first career win at St. Louis, where he is 0-4 with a 7.52 ERA. The right hander has had the fortune of pitching in the few games where Atlanta’s offense decided to show up. The Braves have averaged 8.75 runs for the four games Lowe has started, dwarfing their season average of 3.89 runs per game.
