St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Angels

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
STL	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	4	0
LAA	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	3	6	0

Kyle Leahy gets the ball for St. Louis, a converted bullpen arm who's settled into the rotation after a rocky start to his transition. On the other side, Jose Soriano is a strange case this year — he was untouchable in March and April, then hit a wall. First pitch is 7:10 PM PT at Angel Stadium.

Show fees

FINAL

Spread

ML

Total

Cardinals(51-47)

LLWLW

2

+1.5-203-106o8.5-120

Angels(39-61)

WLLLL

3

-1.5+194+104u8.5+120

Best BetCardinals -102

Pregame

The Cardinals are the road underdog on the moneyline despite carrying a far better record than the Angels, and that's a price worth grabbing. St. Louis just lost a heartbreaker, but this is still a team fighting for playoff position against one buried in last place. Take the value on the better club.

Both rosters are banged up in different ways. St. Louis is without Ramon Urias and Max Rajcic for the season and just found out closer piece JoJo Romero isn't walking through that door anytime soon either. The Angels' injury list reads like a lineup card — Anthony Rendon, Yoan Moncada, Travis d'Arnaud and Yusei Kikuchi are all out long-term, which is a big reason this roster has struggled to find any consistency.

Kyle Leahy

(7-4)·3.44 ERA

Jul 10 vs Braves

ND

3.0IP

0ER

2K

0BB

44P

07/20 Lineup

José Soriano

(9-6)·3.29 ERA

Jul 12 @ Twins

L

5.0IP

3ER

0K

2BB

77P

07/20 Lineup

Los Angeles did snap a 4-game skid on Sunday, beating Detroit 3-2 behind a strong start from Ryan Johnson, so there's a sliver of momentum at home. But at 39-61, this is still a team playing out the string, while the Cardinals are fighting to stay in the thick of a playoff race at 51-47.

St. Louis Cardinals

(51-47)

Jul 19L@ Diamondbacks7-8

Jul 18L@ Diamondbacks3-5

Jul 18W@ Diamondbacks5-4

Jul 12Lvs Braves3-4

Jul 11Wvs Braves4-1

Los Angeles Angels

(39-61)

Jul 19Wvs Tigers3-2

Jul 19Lvs Tigers0-7

Jul 18Lvs Tigers1-2

Jul 12L@ Twins2-4

Jul 11L@ Twins3-5

That form card tells the real story here. St. Louis has dropped 3 of its last 5, capped by Sunday's meltdown in Arizona where they coughed up a 7-0 lead and lost 8-7 on a walk-off double. It's the kind of loss that can linger, and the Cardinals need Leahy to stabilize things after that bullpen implosion. The Angels, meanwhile, have won just once in their last 5, and even that win came with the offense managing only 3 runs.

St. Louis Cardinals

(3)

• 15-Day-ILJoJo Romero (RP) — The Cardinals do not expect Romero (appendicitis) to be ready for activation from the 15-day injured list when first eligible, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.07/19
• 60-Day-ILMax Rajcic (RP) — The Cardinals transferred Rajcic (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Tuesday.07/07
• 60-Day-ILRamon Urias (3B) — Urias (elbow) returned to St. Louis to undergo an examination on his left elbow, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.06/12

Los Angeles Angels

(9)

• 10-Day-ILSebastian Rivero (C) — Rivero (hand) has been catching at the Angels' spring complex in Arizona, MLB.com reports.07/12
• 10-Day-ILAdam Frazier (2B) — The Angels announced Saturday that Frazier (elbow) has been hitting on the field, taking grounders and running, but he's not yet throwing at full intensity, MLB.com reports.07/05
• 60-Day-ILTravis d'Arnaud (C) — D'Arnaud (foot) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Salt Lake on Friday.07/17
• 60-Day-ILBen Joyce (RP) — Joyce (shoulder) averaged 100.2 mph with his fastball in a one-inning rehab appearance in the Arizona Complex League on Thursday, Taylor Blake Ward of TheSportingTribune.com reports.07/17
• 60-Day-ILYusei Kikuchi (SP) — Kikuchi (shoulder) threw a bullpen session Sunday, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.07/05
• 60-Day-ILJack Kochanowicz (SP) — Kochanowicz's Tommy John surgery on his right elbow was deemed "successful," per MLB.com.06/27
• 60-Day-ILYoan Moncada (3B) — Moncada will require surgery on his right knee, Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com reports.06/09
• 60-Day-ILRobert Stephenson (RP) — The Angels announced that Stephenson underwent ligament and flexor repair surgery on his right elbow Wednesday and is likely to miss the remainder of the season, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.05/08
• 60-Day-ILAnthony Rendon (3B) — The Angels placed Rendon (hip) on the 60-day injured list Tuesday.05/08

Soriano's stuff is still nasty when he's around the zone — he was the AL's Pitcher of the Month early on — but his command has wavered lately and it showed in his last start, a loss to Minnesota where he walked 2 and struck out none in 5 innings. If that version shows up again, St. Louis has a lineup capable of making him pay.