The St. Louis Cardinals will travel to Houston, Texas, to face the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. Game 3 of the series will start at 2:10 PM ET on Wednesday afternoon and air on the MLB Network, ESPN+, Bally Sports Midwest, and Space City Home Network.
The St. Louis Cardinals have lost four of their last five games, including the first two games of the series on the road against the Houston Astros: a 4-7 loss in Game 1 on Monday and a 5-8 loss in Game 2 on Tuesday. The Cardinals have been swept in two series this season: a 0-3 series sweep at home against the Milwaukee Brewers and a 0-2 series sweep at home against the New York Mets.
The loss on Tuesday was the 4th straight loss in the series for the Cardinals against the Rockies, with St. Louis losing by an average margin of 5.75 runs per game during the losing streak.
The Cardinals have been productive during the current series at producing runs as they have scored an average of 4.5 runs per game, including five runs in Game 2, with Alec Burleson, Nolan Gorman, and Masyn Winn all hitting home runs in the loss.
The St. Louis Cardinals will look to end their four-game losing streak against the Houston Astros and avoid the series sweep when they travel to face the Houston Astros for Game 3.
The Houston Astros are having one of their worst starts to the season over the last decade, as they are six games below .500 more than a quarter of the way into the 2024 MLB season with a record of 28-34.
However, the Astros have won four of their previous six games and are on a two-game winning streak following an 8-5 win in Game 2 of the series against the Cardinals on Tuesday but remain in 3rd place in the AL West behind the Seattle Mariners and the Texas Rangers.
The Astros' pitching rotation has hindered them this season, as they have allowed an average of 4.45 runs per game. However, the Astros' bats have been productive, as they are averaging 4.44 runs per game.
For Houston to become a contender again, they are going to have to address their pitching. Houston has won four straight and six of the last ten meetings with St. Louis and has won by an average margin of 2 runs per game in the previous ten games in the series.
The Houston Astros will look to extend their winning streak to five games and complete the series sweep when they host the St. Louis Cardinals for Game 3 on Wednesday afternoon.
WagerWeb lists the Houston Astros as -175 moneyline favorites at home against the St. Louis Cardinals for Game 3 of the series on Wednesday afternoon. Houston has won six of the last ten by an average margin of 2 runs per game and four straight games in the series by an average margin of 5.75 runs per game.
Ronel Blanco has been one of the best pitchers for Houston this season as he enters Game 3 of the series with a record of 5-1 and an ERA of 2.44 while having recorded 57 strikeouts and has only allowed three runs or more in two of his 10 starts this season.
However, he is coming off his worst start in his most recent outing against the Minnesota Twins, in which he allowed four runs while striking out six batters in 4 ? innings pitched. The Astros have dominated the series, winning four straight games with an average margin of 5.75 runs per game. Take the run line for the Houston Astros when they host the St. Louis Cardinals for Game 3 of the series.
