Pitching Can Shine In Game Between Cardinals And Diamondbacks

Cardinals vs. Diamondbacks, 4:10 ET

Sometimes in sports betting there are teams that confuse you or just seem to have your number. It doesn't always happen, but there are going to be times were your best chance to win with them is to just completely ignore any game they play in. It can be hard to recognize, and does usually require you to take extensive tracking and evaluate your betting (something you should do anyway) but the sooner you realize it, the better your bankroll will be. Today, one team that has built my bank roll takes on one that depleted it last season as the Diamondbacks and Cardinals square off. 

I've mentioned in the past that the Cardinals are a team that really cost me a lot of money last season. I said it probably every article that I wrote about them because I needed to tell people that this team was absolutely destroying me and I just couldn't get them right. I thought they were going to win the division, I thought they would be an offensive squad. The offense wasn't that good, and the pitching was even worse. But, when I would pick them to win, it would be a loss. If I picked them to lose, I would still lose. Eventually, I just stayed away from them - I did the same with the Memphis Grizzlies this season. Know when to cut the losses. One guy that I can say has been reliable for me over the years is Miles Mikolas. I've also said this in the past - he has made me some decent money and I seem to be a Stan for him. He is kind of the Ace of the Cardinals staff at this point, but really, he would be best as a third, maybe second, starter for an organization. He has put together two very nice starts in a row as he has back-to-back quality starts, allowing just two earned runs in each game and going at least six innings. Diamondback hitters hit him fairly well when they make contact, but he is holding them to a .211 average over 90 at-bats. 

The Diamondbacks were on the other side of the coin for me last year. I predicted they would be better than the assessment the market was giving them. I didn't think Corbin Carroll would be as good as he is, but that was a bonus. And, if we are being honest, I didn't expect them to be World Series runners up. That's where it went and it was a nice change of pace to see them playing in the final games of the year. What I liked about the team is that they had a good balance of hitting for average, power, good baserunning, and of course, a strong foundation with their pitching staff. Everything really comes back to those hurlers, doesn't it? Well, today, the Diamondbacks get one of the better ones in Zac Gallen as he takes the hill for Arizona looking to close out this series. Gallen has thrown 16 innings this season and allowed just four earned runs. He did allow three earned in his last start in Coors Field, but a lot of pitchers allow three earned runs just walking into that stadium. Outside of Brandon Crawford, there aren't a ton of players with extensive history against Gallen, and he has set down 14 of 54 at-bats on strikes. 

Today is a good day to look toward the under. You should get that part complete from Gallen without much question, so maybe a Cardinals team total under is a good side, but I think Mikolas might have found a groove and fixed whatever was plaguing him much of last season. He is a guy you can usually predict performance based on his splits, but it is too early in the season to rely much on that. I'm going to hope he can give us another solid performance here and we can take the teams to go under the game total. 

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