St. Louis Cardinals vs. Los Angeles Angels betting pick favors the home team through five innings

I had another rough outing the other day with a loss on the Rays. It wasn't quite as heartbreaking or frustrating as the Royals game on Friday night, but it was still a tough loss. The Rays were up big, and then in the seventh inning, they allowed four runs to the Red Sox. Boston won again and moved on to their 12th straight win (they got No. 13 yesterday). After taking the day off yesterday, I'm back on the diamond today and have a play on this one between the Cardinals and Angels.

The St. Louis Cardinals are having a solid season, despite them supposedly looking to quasi-tank this season. For the year, they are 51-47, which puts them in the Wild Card hunt. They just had their breakout star, Jordan Walker, win the Home Run Derby, and their team could find a way to the postseason if they can keep up their winning ways in the second half. I am a little intrigued to see what they do around the deadline. They could add pitching, or they could ignore any trades and roll the dice on how the rest goes.

If they are looking for some sort of addition, the starting rotation is probably where they need to upgrade. They have some decent arms, but I'm not sure they are ones you want to go into a playoff series or even a playoff chase with. Kyle Leahy is a solid arm for them, for example, but this is his first full year as a starter; will he last? He has been great with a 7-4 record, a 3.73 ERA, and a 1.41 WHIP. He has been substantially worse on the road, with a 4.69 road ERA compared to 2.94 in St. Louis. The good news for Cardinals fans is that the team is 0-for-9 against him.

The Los Angeles Angels are likely going to be the worst team in all of baseball when the season is over. There will be talk about trading some players, including their superstar Mike Trout, but I'm guessing very little will happen. They are in one of the worst positions as most analysts will tell you this team needs a complete rebuild and their farm system is empty. Although they hung in there for a few months, they've dropped down to 22 games under .500 and are no longer even sniffing contention. At just 11.5 games back, crazier things have happened, but the team just doesn't seem to have the ability to get where they need to go.

One of the arms that might bring them back a bit of a return - and they should be looking at prospects more than anything - is today's starter, Jose Soriano. He has been surprisingly reliable for the Angels with an 8-6 record and a 3.49 ERA for the year. In addition, he has a 1.29 WHIP. While these numbers won't blow anyone away, he seems like an arm you'd at least be tolerant of in the middle of your rotation if you're chasing a playoff spot. A typical Soriano start will be two or three runs allowed in five or six innings of work. He hasn't faced the Cardinals often, and they are just 1-for-5 against him.

I am not a guy who likes to back bad teams, and the Angels are a bad team. However, there is often value in taking these teams that are often overlooked. They are still winning about 40% of their games. If you pick the right spot to back them, that can be a profitable endeavor. I think in this situation it does make sense to back the Angels. They are playing at home after the Cardinals have to travel. Leahy is bad on the road, and Soriano has been reliable. Give me the Angels through five innings.

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