St. Louis Cardinals at Texas Rangers Baseball Betting Tips and Predictions 5/18/2019

Saturday, May 18, 2019

Globe Life Park

Get todays MLB odds and lines on this game.

Probable Pitchers: Dakota Hudson vs. Jesse Chavez

Globe Life Park is the venue where Shin-Soo Choo and the Texas Rangers (19-22, 4th in AL West) will play the St. Louis Cardinals (23-21, 3rd in NL Central) on Saturday. The Cardinals open this contest at -145 while the Rangers are priced at +135. The O/U is set at 11.5.

The Cardinals have been a decent pick for bettors, having gone 23-21-0 SU. The Rangers cover 46.3% of the time, going 19-22-0 straight up. The Cardinals have been a decent pick for bettors as favorites, going 13-11-0 SU. Texas has went 13-20-0 straight up as an underdog, so they cover 39.4% of the time.

Valuable St. Louis Cardinals Betting Trends

The Cardinals have been a bad Under bet for over/under baseball wagerers, having gone 23-18-3.

St. Louis is covering 42.1% of the time as a visitor, having gone 8-11-0 straight up.

Important Texas Rangers Betting Trends

Texas is covering 63.2% of the time at Globe Life Park, going 12-7-0 SU.

The Rangers have been a bad Under bet for over/under baseball wagerers, having gone 25-15-1.

Key St. Louis Cardinals Injuries

05/17/19 P Carlos Martinez Shoulder 10-day IL (03/25); expected to be activated Saturday vs Texas Rangers
05/17/19 CF Harrison Bader Neck is questionable Friday vs Texas Rangers
04/17/19 P Mike Mayers Shoulder 10-day IL (04/16)
03/27/19 P Brett Cecil Arm 60-day IL (03/28)
03/27/19 RF Justin Williams Hand 10-day IL (03/25)

Key Texas Rangers Injuries

05/17/19 P Drew Smyly Ankle is downgraded to not expected start Friday vs St. Louis Cardinals
05/15/19 SS Elvis Andrus Hamstring 10-day IL (05/15)
05/09/19 P Shawn Kelley Infection 10-day IL (05/06)
04/26/19 P Taylor Hearn Elbow 10-day IL (04/26)
04/13/19 P Edinson Volquez Elbow 60-day IL (04/05)
04/01/19 P Yohander Mendez Elbow 60-day IL (04/01)
03/25/19 P Luke Farrell Jaw 60-day IL (03/28)
03/25/19 RF Scott Heineman Shoulder 60-day IL

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Cardinals have a 23-21 overall record this season. Starting pitcher Dakota Hudson has a 2-3 record with an earned run average of 4.61 and a WHIP of 1.78 this season. He has 31 strikeouts over his 41 innings pitched and he's given up 53 hits. He's allowed 11.6 hits per 9 innings and he has a FIP of 5.99. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.30 and they have given up 112 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .204 against the bullpen and they've struck out 178 hitters and walked 66 batters. As a team, St. Louis allows 8 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.9 batters per nine innings. They are 16th in the league in team earned run average at 4.37. The Cardinals pitchers collectively have given up 345 base hits and 188 earned runs. They have allowed 67 home runs this season, ranking them 4th in the league. St. Louis as a pitching staff has walked 161 batters and struck out 382. They have walked 3.7 men per 9 innings while striking out 8.9 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.31 and their FIP as a unit is 4.77.

Hitting Statistics

As a team St. Louis is hitting .258, good for 5th in the league. The Cardinals hold a .423 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .341, which is good for 5th in baseball. They rank 7th in MLB with 8.7 hits per game. Paul DeJong is hitting .313 with an on-base percentage of .406. He has 52 hits this season in 166 at bats with 19 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .542 and an OPS+ of 156. Paul Goldschmidt is hitting .269 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .359. He has totaled 46 hits and he has driven in 23 men in 171 at bats. His OPS+ is 123 while his slugging percentage is at .468. The Cardinals have 384 hits, including 73 doubles and 55 home runs. St. Louis has walked 170 times so far this season and they have struck out 360 times as a unit. They have left 320 men on base and have a team OPS of .764. They score 5.05 runs per contest and have scored a total of 222 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Texas has a 19-22 overall mark this year. With an earned run average of 6.20, Jesse Chavez has a 0-1 record and a 1.72 WHIP. He has 16 strikeouts over the 20.1 innings he's pitched. He also has given up 27 hits. He's allowing 12 hits per nine innings and his FIP stands at 6.85. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.87 and they have given up 174 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .266 against the Rangers bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 134 batters and walked 76 opposing hitters. As a team, Texas allows 9.8 hits per nine innings while striking out 7.6 batters per nine innings. They are 29th in the league in team earned run average at 5.29. The Rangers pitchers as a team have surrendered 394 base knocks and 213 earned runs this season. They have given up 57 home runs this year, which ranks 14th in Major League Baseball. Texas as a staff has walked 169 hitters and struck out 307 batters. They give up a walk 4.2 times per 9 innings while they strike out 7.6 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.55 while their FIP as a staff is 5.04.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .254, good for 11th in the league. The Rangers hold a .462 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .338, which is good for 6th in baseball. They rank 5th in MLB with 8.8 hits per contest. Shin-Soo Choo comes into this matchup batting .288 with an OBP of .392. He has 42 hits this year along with 15 RBI in 146 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .493 with an OPS+ of 128. Nomar Mazara is hitting .255 this season and he has an OBP of .316. He has collected 37 hits in 145 at bats while driving in 22 runs. He has an OPS+ of 93 and a slugging percentage of .441. The Rangers as a unit have 359 base hits, including 81 doubles and 65 homers. Texas has walked 165 times this year and they have struck out on 406 occasions. They have had 275 men left on base and have an OPS of .801. They have scored 5.85 runs per game and totaled 240 runs this season.

Who will win tonight's Cardinals/Rangers MLB game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take the Rangers +135

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