Young Guns Duel as Parra Meets Wainwright

The Brewers continued their dominance of the St. Louis Cardinals in last night’s MLB online wagering affair by going into Busch Stadium and winning for the sixth straight time. They didn’t just win the game though, they dominated it as Ben Sheets tossed six innings of shutout ball, and the Brewers offense teed off on Todd Wellemeyer to the tune of eight hits and five runs en route to the impressive 12-0 road victory.

The Brew Crew’s just had the Cardinals number in ‘08 winning seven in a row and nine of their 14 overall meetings. The victory improved Milwaukee to 77-55 overall, but they still trail the Chicago Cubs by five-games for the top spot in the NL Central. That said; they now own comfy 4.5-game leads over both the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals in the Wild Card race.

Milwaukee’s been one of the better overall investments for sportsbettors this season evidenced by the $1475 return bettors have seen backing them this season, and they’re also one of the few teams that have succeeded on the road. Last night’s victory improved the Brewers road mark to 36-31 overall – reeling in MLB bettors upwards of $700 on the season.

They’ll head to Pittsburgh after this one for a three-game set before returning home to compete in a crucial 10-game homestand. The Cardinals have valiantly stayed within the thick of the NL Central and Wild Card races for a majority of the season, but their luck seems to have run out as they fall deeper in the standings with every passing week.

Surprisingly, the Redbirds have fared much better as a visitor than they have at home. Last nights loss dropped them to 36-31 overall – costing St. Louis bettors $200+ on the season, but they’ve reeled in $1500+ in profit on the road. Strange, but true. Thankfully, this will be the last time they have to face the Brewers this season.

Rookie lefthander Manny Parra comes into tonight’s game 10-6 with a 4.04 ERA and 1.51 WHIP. He secured his first win since July 20th his last time out against Houston in a game that saw him throw just five innings of two-run ball in the Brewers 5-2 home victory.

Since getting off to a fabulous start, Parra has struggled going 0-4 with a 5.70 ERA prior to his last start against the Astros. He’s also been easier for offenses to manage as a visitor where he’s 4-4 with a 5.13 ERA allowing 68 hits and 35 runs in 59+ total innings of work. That said; the Brewers have won all three of his starts against St. Louis this season though he hasn’t faced them since his production has tailed off. Parra’s yet to earn a decision in four career starts against the Redbirds while sporting a 4.50 ERA and lofty 1.75 WHIP.

Adam Wainwright will look to help his club squash their losing streak to the Brewers when he makes his second start since coming off the DL. St. Louis thumped Atlanta 18-3 in his first start since returning from injury, and he was solid limiting the Braves to just one run and five hits through six innings of work.

He only threw 72 pitches in that outing and expects to build off that effort in this spot. St. Louis has been deadly with him toeing the Busch Stadium rubber winning seven of his eight overall starts. He owns a personal mark of 5-1 at home with a stingy 2.76 ERA and 1.02 WHIP allowing just 49 hits and 18 earned runs through 58+ total innings of work. In five career starts against the Brewers, Wainwright’s 2-2 with a 3.58 ERA and 1.19 WHIP.