MLB Betting: NL Wild Card Bets

Juan Carlos Blanco takes aim at the NL Wild Card clash between the Cardinals and Dodgers. Can St. Louis starter Adam Wainwright continue his storybook season against the juggernaut Dodgers?
MLB Betting: NL Wild Card Bets
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Previous article: 1-4, -6.11 RW Bucks      

Season: 88-96-7, -17.23 RW Bucks

The postseason gives us a chance for a bit of a reset with what often projects as a narrower range of outcomes for certain wagers, considering the quality of pitching really sharpens up for the most part. I'll take my first shot with a couple of bets involving Wednesday's NL Wild Card showdown.

St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Dodgers, 8:10 pm ET

Starting Pitchers: Adam Wainwright vs. Max Scherzer

The Pick: Cardinals Under 1.5 runs – first 5 innings (-135 on DraftKings Sportsbook) for 1 RW Buck

Secondary Pick: Wainwright Under 4.5 strikeouts thrown (-141 on PlaySugarhouse Sportsbook) for 1 RW Buck

Wainwright not only defied Father Time in his age-40 season, he outright trampled right over him on his way to a 17-win tally that was his best since 2014. However, he walks into a hornet's nest in this postseason matchup, even with the Dodgers missing Max Muncy (elbow). Los Angeles was harder on visiting righties than any other team in the National League over the last month of the season with a .390 wOBA, 21.6 wRAA and MLB-high 24 home runs in that span.

Wainwright yielded a 1.2 HR/9 on the road this season and was hit hard in his last road start of the regular season by the Brewers (4 IP, 5 ER, 2 HRs allowed). The Dodgers bring a similarly potent lineup and averaged 5.1 runs and an MLB-high 1.7 HRs per contest at home, while current L.A. bats boast a collective .280 average with eight extra-base hits (out of 22) against Wainwright. In contrast, Scherzer has held Cards hitters to a lifetime .130 average while posting a 37.6 percent strikeout rate in that sample of 149 career encounters.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Winner of the FSWA 2016 Newcomer of the Year Award, Juan Carlos Blanco has been playing fantasy sports for over 20 years and covers NBA, MLB, NFL, CFL and Arena Football for Rotowire.com, including serving as the beat writer for teams in multiple sports. He has previously written for KFFL.com and remains an avid season-long and daily fantasy player in multiple sports as well.
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