Tag: Carlos Martinez

A comedy of errors by the Cardinals in the second allows Phillies to score six hilarious runs

It doesn’t get any more unfortunate than this for Carlos Martinez and the Cardinals.

Carlos Martinez just had an absolute inning to forget for the St. Louis Cardinals, and the worst part is much of it wasn’t his fault. In the second inning of the Cardinals Friday night game against the Philadelphia Phillies, the home team batted around on Martinez in the worst possible way.

In total, the Cardinals had a calamity of mishaps in the second inning, including:

  • A slip that caused an infield single.
  • A botched double play to allow another single.
  • A ball lost in the lights to score a run.
  • A hit-by-pitch on the pitcher with the bases loaded to score.

The inning started off routinely for Martinez, who struck out J.T. Realmuto. However, the next batter Alec Bohm was able to reach first after Cardinals short stop Paul DeJong slipped on the grass to allow the infield single. Then, with runners on the corners, outfielder Dylan Carlson lost a ball hit by Jean Segura in the lights, allowing a run to score on the goof.

The inning, however, didn’t stop there. With the bases loaded after intentionally walking Mickey Moniak to get to pitcher Zach Eflin, Martinez hit Eflin with a pitch and the Phillies were able to double the lead to 2-0.

Unfortunately for Martinez, the Phillies scored four more runs in the inning to put the Cardinals behind the eight ball 6-0 at the end of the second. It’s even more unlucky for Martinez because most of the earned runs he accumulated in the inning weren’t his fault.

Alas, that’s sometimes just how it goes in baseball.

[mm-video type=video id=01f1vxjxndjth07bgr playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01f1vxjxndjth07bgr/01f1vxjxndjth07bgr-3a637f1a14045313b9a3b1796ead3636.jpg]

St. Louis Cardinals at Minnesota Twins odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Tuesday’s St. Louis Cardinals at Minnesota Twins sports betting odds and lines, with MLB betting picks, tips and best bets.

The St. Louis Cardinals (2-1) visit the Minnesota Twins (2-1) for the first of two games at Target Field Tuesday at 8:10 p.m. ET. We analyze the Cardinals-Twins MLB betting odds and lines, with picks and best bets.

Cardinals at Twins: Projected starting pitchers

RHP Carlos Martinez vs. RHP Homer Bailey

Martinez will make his first start since July of 2018. He worked out of the bullpen last year, recording a 3.17 ERA with 24 saves in 48 appearances (48 1/3 IP).

  • Martinez averaged just about an inning per appearance in 2019, but has built up his workload again. He worked four effective innings in an exhibition game against the Royals last week, and should go a little longer against the Twins if he’s pitching effectively.
  • Martinez has faced the Twins just twice in his career, allowing three earned runs with eight punch outs in 11 2/3 innings. Facing this version of the Twins will be a tall task, as they finished second in runs and first in home runs in 2019.

Bailey will be making his Minnesota regular-season debut. In 31 starts a season ago for the Kansas City Royals and Oakland A’s, he went 13-9 with a 4.57 ERA.

  • Bailey had a 4.30 ERA after a July trade to Oakland last season. A splitter-heavy approach really helped him thrive down the stretch, when he posted a 2.25 ERA and a strikeout per inning over his final eight starts.
  • Historically, he has really struggled against the Cardinals. In 28 career starts against St. Louis, he is 6-16 with a 5.80 ERA and allowed 1.6 home runs per nine innings.

Baseball season is finally here! Get some action on the 2020 season with an MLB bet at BetMGM in NJ, IN, CO and WV. Bet now!

Cardinals at Twins: Key injuries

Here’s a look at all of the latest injury news around the league.

Cardinals

  • RP Giovanny Gallegos (travel) probable
  • 2B Brad Miller (ankle) out

Twins

  • C Willians Astudillo (COVID-19) out
  • OF Byron Buxton (ankle) questionable
  • RP Lewis Thorpe (leg) questionable

Cardinals at Twins: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips

MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 5 p.m. ET.

Prediction

Cardinals 5, Twins 4

Moneyline (ML)

The Twins (-150) boast the stronger lineup, and Bailey showed excellent skills during the final two months of 2019. However, he’s far from a sure thing to carry that level of success over to 2020, and few would argue that St. Louis will be sending the better pitcher to the mound in this contest. Side with the CARDINALS (+135) in this one.

New to sports betting? A winning $10 bet on the Cardinals returns a profit of $13.50 – in other words, every $1 bet on the Cards will profit $1.35 if they win.

Run line/Against the spread (ATS)

Looking at the run line, the Cardinals check in at +1.5 (-154), while the Twins have odds of -1.5 (+125). Neither side of this bet looks all that appealing, so PASS on the run line.

Over/Under (O/U)

Martinez has some questions heading into 2020, after handling a rather small workload last season. But he always displays strong skills, and should at least be able to keep the potent Minnesota lineup in check while he’s in there.

Bailey, meanwhile, looked very good himself when we last saw him. He’s facing an offense that was below average in 2019, both in terms of runs scored and most of the advanced metrics. Look for this game to end up UNDER 10.5 (-110) the total.

Want some action on this game? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips and advice, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @RuddHQ on Twitter, and follow @SportsbookWire on Twitter and Facebook.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

[lawrence-newsletter]

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1372]