The St. Louis Cardinals (79-56) host the Washington Nationals (48-87) at Busch Stadium on Tuesday. The Nationals took Monday’s series opener 6-0, their second head-to-head victory in four games this season. Starter Anibal Sanchez threw five scoreless innings to get the win, and Mason Thompson threw three scoreless innings to pick up his first save of the season. Keibert Ruiz was 2 for 3 with a solo home run in the win. CJ Abrams went 4 for 5 with a triple and two runs. Yadier Molina went 1 for 3 for the Cardinals.
ON THE MOUND
Paolo Espino (0-6, 4.22 ERA) is in line to start for Washington. The RHP allowed one run over five innings in his last start, a 7-5 road win over the Athletics on Thursday. He scattered five hits while striking out six in the no-decision. Espino has made one previous start against the Cardinals this season, a 7-6 home victory on July 30. He surrendered four runs on seven hits over 4.2 innings, striking out two and walking one. LHP Jose Quintana (4-6, 3.45 ERA) is on the mound for St. Louis. He has made two appearances against the Nationals this season, both starts, giving up four runs over 10 innings (0-0, 3.60) with eight strikeouts and five walks. In his last start on Wednesday, Quintana took a no-decision on the road against the Reds. He threw 4.2 innings and gave up two runs on seven hits, striking out one and walking one in the 5-3 win.
AT THE PLATE
Over the last five games, Washington has averaged 6.0 runs a game, up from their season average of 3.8, while slashing better across the board (.314/.382/.466). Against lefties like Quintana this season, the Nats have a .685 OPS. Victor Robles is the team’s most productive hitter against left-handers with a .757 OPS in 110 at-bats.St. Louis is averaging only 4.6 runs per game in the last five, down slightly from 4.9 for the season. The Cards have a .741 OPS against right-handers in 2022. With a .939 OPS over 375 at-bats, Paul Goldschmidt has been their best hitter against right-handers.
HOME AND AWAY
Washington is on a three-game winning streak on the road, bringing their record to 26-40 in 2022. The Nats have scored 3.9 runs per game away from home, while allowing 5.3 runs. St. Louis has gone 45-23 in front of their home fans this season, averaging 4.9 runs per game while surrendering 3.4. In the last 10 games at Busch Stadium between the teams, Washington is 7-3 with an average scoreline of 3.9-3.2.
STANDINGS UPDATE
The Nationals are fifth in the NL East, 37 games behind the division-leading Mets. The Cardinals lead the NL Central by eight games over the Brewers.
SportsTips’ MLB Pick:
St.Louis Cardinals (-250)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
