Philadelphia will try to be nasty hosts on Friday when the St. Louis Cardinals pay a visit to Citizens Bank Park.

St. Louis puts its faith in starter Kyle Lohse to earn a win and boost his personal mark of 12-2. Getting the ball for the Phillies is Roy Halladay, who owns a 5-6 record on the season with a 4.02 ERA.



View St Louis vs Philadelphia Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
If you're backing the visitors in this one, you'll find the Cardinals listed as underdogs of +-130 at most sportsbooks. Total bettors saw the number open in the area of 7.5, depending on the book.

Power Rankings:
The MLB Power Rankings at Odds Shark show the National League's No. 3-rated Cardinals taking on the National League's No. 7-rated Phillies in this contest.



How They Match Up:
The game also pits Philadelphia's No. 10-rated National League offense, averaging 4.1 runs per game, against a Cardinals defense that ranks No. 6 in the National League at 4 in runs allowed per game. The Phillies have averaged 8.9 hits per game so far, less than Cardinals batters have averaged on the year (9.6 hits per game).

Pitching and defensive stats are important baseball handicapping factors and Philadelphia has the National League's No. 11-ranked defense. In the other dugout, the Cardinals own the National League's No. 6 mark in runs allowed.

In their last action, St. Louis was a 3-1 Sportsbook at home against the Giants. Bettors on St. Louis at -125 on the moneyline collected their winnings from that game, while the total score (4) sent UNDER bettors home happy as well. The Cardinals enjoyed a 3-1 victory at the expense of the Giants on Thursday, with Adam Wainwright throwing 7 innings of 5-hit ball at Busch Stadium.

The Phillies were a 12-6 loser in their most recent outing at home against the Braves. That made Sportsbooks of bettors who got Atlanta at -145 on the moneyline, while the total score (18) was good news for OVER bettors. Philadelphia looks to rebound from a loss to the Braves, who beat them 12-6 on Wednesday behind a start from Tim Hudson at Citizens Bank Park.


St. Louis Cardinals Trends:
When playing on Friday are 6-4
Before playing Philadelphia are 5-5
After playing San Francisco are 4-6
After a win are 7-3

Philadelphia Phillies Trends:
When playing on Friday are 7-3
Before playing St. Louis are 7-3
After playing Atlanta are 3-7
After a loss are 5-5

A few Cardinals at Phillies trends to consider:
St. Louis is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Philadelphia
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of St. Louis' last 11 games on the road
St. Louis is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of St. Louis' last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Philadelphia's last 8 games
Philadelphia is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Philadelphia's last 6 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Philadelphia's last 6 games when playing St. Louis


Next up:
St. Louis at Philadelphia, Saturday, August 11