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Garcia, Cardinals Battle Toronto Blue Jays
St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Jaime Garcia (6-2, 3.19 ERA) was the ace of the staff for the first seven weeks of the season until a rough trip to Colorado made his ERA jump more than a full run. Regardless, Garcia remains unbeatable at Busch Stadium and will look to stay that way when his Cardinals host the Toronto Blue Jays in the second game of a three-game interleague series on Saturday.
First pitch from the Gateway City is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. (PT).
Garcia appeared to be following up a fantastic second year in the big leagues with an even better third before surrendering a season-high 12 runs and 11 hits in just 3 1/3 innings of a 15-4 loss to the Rockies on May 28. His ERA went from 1.93 to 3.28 and has not shrunk much since then as St. Louis has gone 2-2 in his past four starts.
He was 13-8 last year with a 2.70 ERA in 28 starts covering 163 1/3 innings.
Still, the Cardinals have not lost a home game with Garcia on the mound this season, going 6-0 with the southpaw earning four of those wins while posting an outstanding 0.81 ERA. Opposing batters are hitting only .169 against him at Busch, and he earned a victory at Toronto a year ago after allowing three runs and six hits with no walks and four strikeouts in six innings of a 9-4 win.
St. Louis won two of three meetings with the Blue Jays last season and is 6-3 against them dating back to 2003. Toronto pitcher Carlos Villanueva (4-1, 3.17) was not involved in any of those games because he was with Milwaukee in his first two seasons, but he has improved dramatically in his third year. He is 4-3 lifetime against the Cardinals with a 3.11 ERA in 24 games.
Villanueva has evolved into a very solid starter after making his first 13 appearances out of the bullpen. The Blue Jays are 5-1 in his starts, and he has allowed three runs or less three times over his past four outings.
He is also 3-1 on the road this season with an impressive 2.52 ERA.
Toronto suffered its first setback with Villanueva starting last time out at Cincinnati on Sunday. The right-hander allowed only two runs and seven hits in seven innings with no walks and three strikeouts. The Blue Jays lost that game 2-1 as +125 underdogs, which also resulted in one of eight consecutive ‘unders’ for them heading into Friday’s series opener against St. Louis.
Villanueva had seen the ‘over’ cash in his previous nine trips to the mound along with a remarkable 16 of 18, including his relief appearances. The ‘over’ was also 7-1-1 in the previous nine games for the Cardinals going into Friday. However, the ‘under’ is 5-1 in the past six meetings between the teams.
There is a 40 percent chance of scattered thunderstorms in St. Louis on Saturday night with the game-time temperature projected to be around 80 degrees.
St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Jaime Garcia (6-2, 3.19 ERA) was the ace of the staff for the first seven weeks of the season until a rough trip to Colorado made his ERA jump more than a full run. Regardless, Garcia remains unbeatable at Busch Stadium and will look to stay that way when his Cardinals host the Toronto Blue Jays in the second game of a three-game interleague series on Saturday.
First pitch from the Gateway City is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. (PT).
Garcia appeared to be following up a fantastic second year in the big leagues with an even better third before surrendering a season-high 12 runs and 11 hits in just 3 1/3 innings of a 15-4 loss to the Rockies on May 28. His ERA went from 1.93 to 3.28 and has not shrunk much since then as St. Louis has gone 2-2 in his past four starts.
He was 13-8 last year with a 2.70 ERA in 28 starts covering 163 1/3 innings.
Still, the Cardinals have not lost a home game with Garcia on the mound this season, going 6-0 with the southpaw earning four of those wins while posting an outstanding 0.81 ERA. Opposing batters are hitting only .169 against him at Busch, and he earned a victory at Toronto a year ago after allowing three runs and six hits with no walks and four strikeouts in six innings of a 9-4 win.
St. Louis won two of three meetings with the Blue Jays last season and is 6-3 against them dating back to 2003. Toronto pitcher Carlos Villanueva (4-1, 3.17) was not involved in any of those games because he was with Milwaukee in his first two seasons, but he has improved dramatically in his third year. He is 4-3 lifetime against the Cardinals with a 3.11 ERA in 24 games.
Villanueva has evolved into a very solid starter after making his first 13 appearances out of the bullpen. The Blue Jays are 5-1 in his starts, and he has allowed three runs or less three times over his past four outings.
He is also 3-1 on the road this season with an impressive 2.52 ERA.
Toronto suffered its first setback with Villanueva starting last time out at Cincinnati on Sunday. The right-hander allowed only two runs and seven hits in seven innings with no walks and three strikeouts. The Blue Jays lost that game 2-1 as +125 underdogs, which also resulted in one of eight consecutive ‘unders’ for them heading into Friday’s series opener against St. Louis.
Villanueva had seen the ‘over’ cash in his previous nine trips to the mound along with a remarkable 16 of 18, including his relief appearances. The ‘over’ was also 7-1-1 in the previous nine games for the Cardinals going into Friday. However, the ‘under’ is 5-1 in the past six meetings between the teams.
There is a 40 percent chance of scattered thunderstorms in St. Louis on Saturday night with the game-time temperature projected to be around 80 degrees.
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