St. Louis Cardinals at Arizona Diamondbacks

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

Michael McGreevy (4-7, 3.01 ERA) takes the ball for the Cardinals against Merrill Kelly (7-8, 5.38 ERA) for Arizona, with first pitch set for 6:40 PM MT. It's a clean stylistic contrast — a young righty who's quietly turned into St. Louis's most reliable arm against a 37-year-old veteran trying to keep a battered rotation afloat.

Show fees

FINAL

Spread

ML

Total

Cardinals(50-45)

LWWLW

5

+1.5-190+104o8.5-127

Diamondbacks(49-47)

WWWWL

4

-1.5+186-106u8.5+117

Best BetDiamondbacks -107

Pregame

The Diamondbacks are barely favored here despite riding a 4-of-5 stretch that included blowing the doors off the Dodgers 3 times in a row. Sharp money has already piled onto Arizona at a real dollar clip, and a near-even coin-flip price on a team playing this well at home is a number worth backing. Kelly's ugly season ERA is scaring off some public money that isn't looking at his last outing.

Kelly's ugly season ERA undersells where he's at right now. His last time out, he held the Padres to 1 run over 7 innings with 3 strikeouts, and he's essentially the only established starter Arizona has left standing — Zac Gallen and Corbin Burnes are both on the 60-day IL, Michael Soroka's on the 15-day with no firm return date, and the rest of the rotation is being patched together on the fly. Geraldo Perdomo also missed time recently with wrist and ankle issues, so his status up the middle is worth watching before first pitch.

Michael McGreevy

(4-9)·3.57 ERA

Jul 8 vs Brewers

W

6.1IP

1ER

6K

1BB

90P

07/17 Lineup

Merrill Kelly

(8-8)·4.86 ERA

Jul 9 @ Padres

W

7.0IP

1ER

6K

3BB

94P

07/17 Lineup

None of that stopped Arizona from steamrolling the Dodgers for 3 straight wins last week, and that kind of offensive burst is exactly why the home side is drawing plenty of confidence in the market. St. Louis, meanwhile, has been the steadier team on paper without much fanfare.

St. Louis Cardinals

(2)

• 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

Arizona Diamondbacks

(12)

• Day-To-DayGeraldo Perdomo (SS) — Perdomo isn't in the lineup for Wednesday's game against San Diego.07/17
• 10-Day-ILTommy Troy (LF) — The Diamondbacks placed Troy (shoulder) on the 10-day injured list Wednesday with a sprained right AC joint.07/15
• 10-Day-ILJordan Lawlar (LF) — Lawlar (hamstring) has begun hitting in the cage and executing running mechanics, MLB.com reports.07/13
• 15-Day-ILMichael Soroka (SP) — Manager Torey Lovullo said Thursday that Soroka (glute) will require a rehab start before returning to the Diamondbacks' rotation, Alex D'Agostino of SI.com reports.07/17
• 15-Day-ILZac Gallen (SP) — Manager Torey Lovullo said Thursday that Gallen is awaiting a second opinion on his injured right elbow, Alex D'Agostino of SI.com reports.07/17
• 60-Day-ILJustin Martinez (RP) — Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said Thursday that Martinez (elbow) will throw a live batting practice session soon, Alex D'Agostino of SI.com reports.07/17
• 60-Day-ILCorbin Burnes (SP) — Burnes (elbow) began a throwing program July 10 and felt good following the session, MLB.com reports.07/13
• 60-Day-ILRyne Nelson (SP) — The Diamondbacks transferred Nelson (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Thursday.06/25
• 60-Day-ILA.J. Puk (RP) — Arizona is shutting down Puk (elbow) for another four weeks due to a capsule strain and he will also undergo another MRI in four weeks, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.06/19
• 60-Day-ILCristian Mena (RP) — Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo told reporters Monday that Mena underwent surgery on his right shoulder and will be sidelined for the rest of the season, Jack Sommers of SI.com reports.06/01
• 60-Day-ILBlake Walston (SP) — Walston (elbow) paused his rehab program earlier in the season, but he was expected to start building back up around the middle of May, MLB.com reports.06/01
• 60-Day-ILAndrew Saalfrank (RP) — Saalfrank (shoulder) said Wednesday that he expects to be sidelined 10-16 months, Arizona Sports reports.05/08

McGreevy's emergence is the actual headline for St. Louis. He's posted a 3.01 ERA and a tidy walk rate across his outings this year, and the Cardinals have won the bulk of his starts since he arrived. He's not a household name yet, but the underlying performance says he should be.

St. Louis Cardinals

(50-45)

Jul 12Lvs Braves3-4

Jul 11Wvs Braves4-1

Jul 11Wvs Braves2-1

Jul 9Lvs Brewers4-8

Jul 8Wvs Brewers5-1

Arizona Diamondbacks

(49-47)

Jul 12W@ Dodgers5-3

Jul 12W@ Dodgers9-2

Jul 11W@ Dodgers9-3

Jul 10W@ Padres3-1

Jul 9L@ Padres4-10

Both clubs sit right around .500 with plenty of season left to sort out where they land, which makes this a legitimate measuring-stick game rather than a formality. Arizona's lineup has real thump when it's clicking, St. Louis has the better arm on the mound tonight, and neither team can afford to look sloppy with a wild-card picture still very much up for grabs.