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The St. Louis Cardinals (56-56) host the San Diego Padres (61-50). Prior to yesterday's Cardinals win, the Padres had won the previous three games in this series. The Cardinals are winning around 40% of their games of late while the Padres are winning 60%. Early bet volume was 82% on the Padres but more balanced when it came to the actually money amount wagered.
Padres -155, Cardinals +130; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals play on Sunday with the three-game series tied 1-1.
PITCHING PROBABLES: Cardinals: Andre Pallante (6-7, 4.62 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 76 strikeouts); Padres: Dylan Cease (3-10, 4.79 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 153 strikeouts)
Cease allowed three runs — two earned — over five innings while picking up a loss to the Marlins on Wednesday. He has not had a win over his last few starts.
This might not be the opportune time for him as the Cardinals career statistics vs. Cease are .381 in 42 at bats. That's enough to make one pause with such a high priced favorite.
San Diego has a 61-50 record overall and a 35-19 record in home games. The Padres have gone 33-11 in games when they scored at least five runs.
St. Louis is 56-56 overall and 24-32 on the road. The Cardinals have a 43-20 record in games when they record eight or more hits.
Sunday's game is the seventh time these teams match up this season. The season series is tied 3-3.
TOP PERFORMERS: Manny Machado has 27 doubles and 20 home runs for the Padres. Fernando Tatis Jr. is 11 for 39 with four doubles, a home run and two RBI over the last 10 games.
Brendan Donovan has 24 doubles and nine home runs for the Cardinals. Masyn Winn is 11 for 35 with four doubles over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Padres: 6-4, .295 batting average, 3.31 ERA, outscored opponents by 15 runs
Cardinals: 4-6, .206 batting average, 3.78 ERA, outscored by 11 runs
