3* MLB SMASH

San Diego vs. St. Louis, 05/21/2012 20:15 EDT, Score: 3 - 4

Point Spread: -1½/+123 St. Louis

Sportsbook: 5Dimes

Result: Loss

3* MLB SMASH on Cardinals -1.5 +123
Motivated by getting swept in L.A., expect the Cardinals to be very focused and hungry when they hit the field tonight.

The Padres won 2 of 3 in their interleague series with the Angels, holding the Halos to just 2 runs in each of the last 2 games of the series. This is significant because San Diego is 0-11 after having won 2 of their last 3 games this season, losing by an average score of 5.5 to 2.1 in this situation. It is also 0-9 after allowing 3 runs or less in 2 straight games this season, losing by an average score of 6.2 to 3.2 in these spots.

In addition, the Cards have the edge on the hill. The Padres are 0-4 in Richard's 4 road starts this season, during which he has posted an ERA of 7.99. The Pads have lost those contests by an average of 3.0 runs. Richard's road struggles figure to continue as St. Louis is batting .291 and averaging 6.2 runs/game off lefty starters this season.

The Padres are hitting a dismal .201 and scoring 2.6 runs/game off southpaw starters. They figure to have their work cut out for themselves versus Garcia, who has given up only 7 hits and allowed no runs in 15 innings of work spanning his last 2 starts versus San Diego. Take the Cards on the run line.