Philadelphia gets to face another tough left hander tonight in St. Louis' Jaime Garcia who is 2-1 with a 1.04 ERA in four starts this season. But if you take a closer look, Garcia has done it against light hitting Atlanta, San Francisco, New York, and Milwaukee. This will be the lefty's first true test of the season, and he's pitching in the bandbox of Citizen's Bank Park. The Cardinals are just 2-4 in Philadelphia over the last three seasons, and with Philadelphia hitting .266 at home and averaging 5.7 runs per game, St. Louis is in a tough spot tonight.
Joe Blanton makes his season debut for the Phillies after being activated from the DL. It's good timing for the righty as he comes back in time to face St. Louis whom he is 3-0 with a 1.71 ERA against in his career. Last season, Blanton defeated the Cardinals twice giving up three runs and 11 hits in 14 innings of work. Albert Pujols (1-8), Ryan Ludwick (1-8), Yadier Molina (1-6), Tyler Greene (0-3), Jason LaRue (0-3) and Joe Mather (0-3) all have poor numbers against Blanton. The Cardinals are hitting .252 on the road this season, and since we think Blanton will make an instant impact for the Phillies, we'll back the home underdog tonight.
stake: 10/10
picks: 1 (+10)
odds: 2.1
bookmaker: paddypower
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