St. Louis Cardinals at Arizona Diamondbacks

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

Saturday's matinee gets going at 1:10 PM MT, and the assignment falls to Brandon Pfaadt against Dustin May — two arms with very different things riding on this start. May is auditioning for a new address before the trade deadline. Pfaadt is just trying to keep Arizona's rotation from completely caving in.

Show fees

FINAL

Spread

ML

Total

Cardinals(51-45)

WLWWL

3

+1.5-178+108o9.5+135

Diamondbacks(49-48)

LWWWW

5

-1.5+182-111u9.5-135

Best BetDiamondbacks -121

Pregame

Arizona's still favored here even with the rotation in shambles, and that's a real credit to what Pfaadt has done since his recall — 3 earned runs over his last three starts is legitimate stabilization. The market's pricing the Diamondbacks as roughly a coin flip favorite, which feels fair given St. Louis just got here Friday and won.

That second part isn't an exaggeration. Zac Gallen is on the injured list awaiting a second opinion on his elbow. Corbin Burnes has been out since May with an elbow issue of his own and is only now building back up with throwing sessions. Ryne Nelson and Michael Soroka are both shelved too, Soroka not expected back until early August at the earliest. Pfaadt has been the steadying presence, having allowed just 3 earned runs across his last three starts since getting recalled from Triple-A Reno — a stretch that's kept this rotation from total collapse.

Dustin May

(5-7)·4.38 ERA

Jul 12 vs Braves

ND

4.0IP

2ER

4K

4BB

84P

07/18 Lineup

Brandon Pfaadt

(5-1)·4.00 ERA

Jul 11 @ Dodgers

W

5.1IP

2ER

2K

0BB

77P

07/18 Lineup

St. Louis isn't operating at full strength either. JoJo Romero just went on the 15-day IL with appendicitis, and the bullpen's already down Max Rajcic for the year with an elbow injury. May's own last outing wasn't exactly a showcase — 4 innings, 4 walks against Atlanta — so there's some incentive for him to clean things up here with scouts watching.

St. Louis Cardinals

(51-45)

Jul 18W@ Diamondbacks5-4

Jul 12Lvs Braves3-4

Jul 11Wvs Braves4-1

Jul 11Wvs Braves2-1

Jul 9Lvs Brewers4-8

Arizona Diamondbacks

(49-48)

Jul 18Lvs Cardinals4-5

Jul 12W@ Dodgers5-3

Jul 12W@ Dodgers9-2

Jul 11W@ Dodgers9-3

Jul 10W@ Padres3-1

Zoom out and both of these clubs are hovering around .500, which is exactly the spot that makes the next two weeks interesting. The Diamondbacks are stuck in that buyer-or-seller limbo with the deadline bearing down on August 3, and a rotation this banged up makes the seller case louder by the day. The Cardinals, meanwhile, are quietly 4-1 in their last 5 and would love nothing more than to strip Arizona for parts on the trade market while beating them on the field in the meantime.

St. Louis Cardinals

(3)

• 15-Day-ILJoJo Romero (RP) — The Cardinals placed Romero on the 15-day injured list Friday, retroactive to Tuesday, due to appendicitis.07/17
• 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

(11)

• 10-Day-ILTommy Troy (LF) — Manager Torey Lovullo said Friday that Troy (shoulder) is expected to remain out for roughly 3-to-4 weeks, Jack Sommers of SI.com reports.07/17
• 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 Friday that Soroka (glute) is in line to return from the injured list sometime around early August, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic 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) — 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

Friday's opener was sloppy on Arizona's end, and this staff doesn't have much margin for more of that. If Pfaadt gives them length again, the Diamondbacks stay in it. If not, a Cardinals lineup that's already found its groove against this pitching staff once this week could make it two in a row.