TOM STRYKER’S FREE BASEBALL SELECTION FRIDAY, JUNE 4TH
#960 ST. LOUIS with Kim (-139) over Cincinnati with Castillo at 8:15 PM EST
Checking in hungry of a pair of losses to the Big Red Machine and Dodgers, the Redbirds will get after it under the lights at home on Friday evening. The Cardinals are in second place in the NL Central just 1.5-games behind the Cubs and they need this victory in order to keep pace.
Left-hander Kwant-hyun Kim will take the mound for the Cards. With eight starts in the bank this season, No. 33 has been touched for only 15 earned runs and 40 hits in 37.0 innings. Kim has struck out 33 and walked 12 on his way to a 1-3 tally and a 3.65 ERA. In his own backyard, Kwant-hyun has been effective too. Inside Busch Stadium, Kim has been nipped for only three earned runs and 14 hits in 14.2 frames. After the math, that equates to a 1-0 record with a jaw-dropping 1.84 ERA.
Righty Luis Castillo will hit the hump for the visitors. May has been an ugly month for No. 58. Lined up against the Cubs, Indians, Rockies, Giants, Brewers, and Cubbies again, Castillo was crushed for 25 earned runs and 38 hits in 28.0 innings of work. Luis fanned 29 and walked 16 and posted a horrible 0-6 record and a stiff 8.04 ERA. The road hasn’t been kind to Castillo either. As a guest, Luis has been lashed for 22 earned runs and 32 hits in only 22.2 frames. That adds up to a horrible 0-4 tally and an elevated 8.74 ERA.
There are a handful of quality team trends that back this wager. St. Louis has won eight of its last 10 when facing a foe that holds a team won/loss percentage less than .500, 16 of its last 21 when priced as a favorite, and 11 of its last 15 when battling a division foe. On the other side of the grass, Cincinnati has fallen in 35 of its last 52 in the second game of a series, and 35 of its last 51 when facing a foe that scored two runs or less last.
The Cardinals own a surprising 16-15 SU record at home, and they know that number must improve if they want to be a contender for the division title. Take St. Louis with Kim. Thanks and best of luck, Tom.
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