Philadelphia Phillies versus St Louis Cardinals Pick Prediction MLB Lines Odds Preview 4-18-2013

The St Louis Cardinals will travel to open up a four game Major League Baseball series against the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday night. First pitch from Philadelphia is scheduled for 7PM Eastern Time with national television coverage provided by the MLB Network.

The odds from this Major League Baseball game have the home team Philadelphia Phillies favored by -113 odds with the take back on the St Louis Cardinals at +103 odds. The run total is set at 7 ½ runs.

Taking the mound for the Cardinals will be Adam Wainwright who makes his fourth start of the year. Wainwright in three starts this season is 2-1 with an ERA of 2.05 and WHIP of 1.00. His last start was on Saturday where Wainwright took the win in an 8-0 victory against Milwaukee. The Cardinals veteran allowed no earned runs and four hits in a complete game nine innings of work. Offensively the Cardinals have put runs up on the board as the team pushes across 6.08 runs per game good for second best in Major League Baseball. The Cardinals dropped a 5-0 road decision on Wednesday to the Pittsburgh Pirates as a -113 betting favorite. The game ended under 7 ½ points. The Cardinals and Pirates split their two game series.

The Phillies will counter with lefty starter Cole Hamels in the series opener. The Philadelphia starter is 0-2 in three starts this season with an ERA of 7.56 and WHIP of 1.62. In his last outing Hamels took a hard luck no decision as he gave up just one earned run over six innings in a 2-1 road defeat at Miami. Philadelphia has struggled in both offense and pitching as they rank in the lower third of MLB in runs per game and runs allowed. The team is hitting just .240 for the year ranking 23rd in the league. Philadelphia is routed last night by the Cincinnati Reds 11-2 as a +121 road underdog. The game ended over 8 ½ runs. The Phillies losing streak now reaches three straight as the get swept by the Reds.