There was some concern about the Cardinals’ depth at the position while heading into camp. At least during for the time the club would be without Allen Craig. St. Louis did not have an obvious second option with Craig unavailable to back up Berkman. Carpenter proved during Grapefruit League play that he could handle the position defensively, therefore those concerns faded. Carpenter proved during Grapefruit League play that he could handle the position defensively, therefore those concerns faded. His offensive production has only added to his value.

The 26-year-old has certainly lessened the impact of the veteran’s absence and he is not expected to replace Berkman’s production. He is batting .409 with 10 RBIs in 22 at-bats. He singled his first two trips with an RBI. In the fifth, he belted a two-run shot to straightaway center off Lendy Castillo and in the seventh; he added a two-run triple off Rodrigo Lopez.

Yadier Molina took the rubber match of their three-game set in Chicago and improved to 7-3 on the season. He cracked a three-run homer and scored three times for the Cardinals. The Cubs were held by Jake Westbrook (2-0) to one run on four hits over seven innings, walking one and fanning two for St. Louis.

Cubs’ starter Paul Maholm (0-2) raised his ERA to 13.50. He was roughed up for six runs on six hits over four frames. Berkman did some running and could be back Tuesday when the Cardinals open a three-game series against the Reds, although he missed the weekend series with a strained left calf. Outfielder Carlos Beltran was taken out in the sixth, four innings after he was hit by a pitch on the right forearm when he had trouble throwing, although Freese also could be back from an injured right ring finger.

Reed Johnson scored their second run on a wild pitch. He had two hits and an RBI for the Cubs. They were outscored, 15-4, after hammering Adam Wainwright in St. Louis’ home opener for a 9-5 victory. In seven innings, Westbrook allowed an unearned run in his first start at Cincinnati. With St. Louis scoring 17 runs his first two outings, he has gotten plenty of support.

In the second, the Cardinals needed one hit to score twice, with Carlos Beltran hit by a pitch and Molina walking setting the table to start the inning. Shane Robinson beat out the relay on a double play ball for a run-scoring groundout and Carpenter followed with an RBI single.

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Pittsburgh Pirates – Tied for 1st (Odds to win World Series: 35-1)
At the start of the season, most sportsbook had the Pirates as 100 or 200-1 odds to win. But after having a very solid first half of the regular season, the sportsbook have now boosted their position and dropped the odds on the Bucs winning the World Series. with one of the best young pitching staffs in baseball, this could be the year Pittsburgh makes some noise heading to the post season.

St.Louis Cardinals – Tied for 1st (Odds to win World Series: 22-1)
The Cardinals were seen as outsiders when it came to capturing the division and having a chance at winning the 2011 World Series. To date, the Cards have performed a bit better than expected and have hung in, sitting in a 3-way tie for top spot in the NL Central. And with first baseman Pujols back and hitting, St.Louis may just surprise.

Cincinnati Reds – 3 games behind (Odds to win World Series: 35-1)
The Reds have struggled a bit at times this year, but are still a solid club and as good a bet as any to lead the NL Central come September. The defending divison champs were ranked much higher than they currently are, and may be good value heading down the stretch to the post season.

Chicago Cubs – 11.5 games behind (Odds to win World Series: 300-1)
At the start of the 2011 season, and with the additions of Garza and Pena, the Cubs were certainly expected to rise out of the basement, but no further than fourth. Well to date, they have done that, sitting 8.5 games up on last place Houston but with no chance to move out of fifth. Another long year for the Cubbies faithful.

Houston Astros – 20 game behind (Odds to win World Series: 1000-1)
Houston was expected to finish last in the division and be one of the worst teams in baseball. They have surpised or dissappointed anyone. They are just a bad team on their way to a very bad record.

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The Cardinals are at 25-1 to win the World Series while the reds are at 35-1 in 2011 MLB odds.

Cincinnati is 18-16 on the season and they are just 1.5 games behind the Cardinals in the standings. They have been solid at home, but they still have not been able to find a dominant home field advantage yet this season. They are 10-9 through their first 19 games at home. The Cardinals are a great team on the road at 10-6, and they’ll give the Reds all they can handle this weekend.

The Cardinals have succeeded behind the amazing run production of Lance Berkman and Matt Holliday. These hitters are among the best hitters in the league this year. The team has miraculously managed to score more runs than any team in the Major Leagues despite having a slow start from the best hitter in the league, Albert Pujols.

The Cardinals will send Carpenter, Lohse and McClellan to the mound in this series. Their pitching staff has been better than anyone expected it to be. Despite losing Wainwright, one of their ace pitchers, they have managed to allow fewer runs than any other team in their division to this point in the season.

The Reds can pass the Cardinals if they put up a decent performance in this series. They have the 2nd best offense in the Major Leagues, second only to the Cardinals. This could be an exciting, high scoring series if both teams are able to get things rolling on the offensive side of the game.

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Pujols’ agent and the St. Louis Cardinals have agreed to a Wednesday deadline for contract extension talks, general manager John Mozeliak said according to MLB news.

Two weeks ago, the all-star first baseman received and rejected a contract proposal from the Cards. There has been no progress in the talks since then, a source told ESPN the Magazine’s Buster Olney.

Pujols is in the last year of his contract with the Cardinals. He has said if a deal is not reached by the time he reports for spring training on Wednesday, that he will break off talks to avoid distractions during the season.

Pujols, 31, is seeking a contract reportedly for as long as 10 years, a deal that would make him one of the highest paid players in MLB and allow him to retire as a Cardinal.

He is the only player in major league history to hit 30 or more home runs in his first 10 seasons, with 42 HRs as well as 117 RBIs last year. He finished second in MVP balloting behind the Cincinnati Reds‘ Joey Votto.

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From Cincinnati, the Cardinals (52-41) regained the division lead and pushed their record above .500. By hitting four homers, St. Louis continued its post-All-Star game surge on Monday, for its season-high sixth straight victory, 8-4 over the Phillies. The Phillies (48-44) are looking for better results on the road, while the Cardinals try to win seven in a row for the first time since July 7-16, 2006.

The way the Cardinals are playing, getting back on track could be hard. as St. Louis goes for its first seven-game home winning streak since a nine-game run April 9-25, 2009, as St. Louis goes for its first seven-game home winning streak since a nine-game run April 9-25, 2009. Following back-to-back losses to open July, the veteran right-hander said he is feeling better with his mechanics. With a 5.73 ERA in eight starts against Philadelphia, Carpenter is 4-2, which he has not faced since 2006.

With the 47-year-old left-hander, Jamie Moyer (9-9, 4.88), Philadelphia look to counter. His last two outings, he has lost his last three starts and has a 14.04 ERA. In three innings of Thursday’s 12-6 loss at the Chicago Cubs, he allowed six runs. For the Cardinals in 1991, Moyer was 0-5 with a 5.74 ERA. Ryan Howard, Philadelphia first baseman went 2 for 5 on Monday to improve his lifetime batting average at Busch Stadium to .382.

Bottom line here is this should be a god game so make sure you get in on the action and check the latest MLB baseball betting odds.

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Over the past two years, at home, the Milwaukee Brewers have been troubling the St. Louis Cardinals. With Adam Wainwright on the mound, they have every reason to be confident. This season, at Busch Stadium, Wainwright looks to remain unbeaten.

With a 4-1 win over the Reds on Wednesday night making for some very intetesting baseball betting, St. Louis (31-23) has pulled into a tie with Cincinnati for first place in the NL Central. Cardinals have five wins in seven games. At Busch Stadium, against the Brewers, St. Louis has dropped four straight and 13 of 16, posting a 5.02 ERA. Wainwright (7-3, 2.28 ERA) has a 2.10 ERA in winning each of his four starts at home. He is going 1-1 with a 2.28 ERA, and is 5-3 with a 2.40 ERA in his 11 career outings against the Brewers.

During a seven-game hitting streak, Matt Holliday has also had a strong run, batting .520 (13 for 25) with eight walks, no strikeouts and six RBIs. Versus the Brewers, he is hitting .408 with 10 homers, 8 doubles and 29 RBIs in 37 games.

The veteran left-hander for Milwaukee, Randy Wolf (4-4, 4.46) has yielded two runs in five innings of a 10-4 loss to New York on Sunday and he is 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA in his last two outings. Versus the Cardinals, Wolf is 3-5 with a 3.55 ERA in 11 starts. He lost in all three of his outings at St. Louis even though he has a 4.82 ERA. At St. Louis, Braun is hitting .385 with18 RBIs in 21 games and 5 homers at St. Louis. At Busch Stadium, Brewers slugger Prince Fielder is 7 for 18 (.389) in his last five games.

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Hall of fame catcher Carlton Fisk was insulted by McGuire’s remarks. Fisk feels that McGuire’s explanation is “a crock.” McGuire could not have hit the home runs he did without the steroids. Fisk has a simple explanation as to what steroids do to athletes, “You can be good, but it’s going to make you better. You can be average, but it is going to make you good. If you are below average, it is going to make you average.”

No one doubts McGuire’s ability. When I was a kid, I used to idolize the “Bash Brothers.” While I don’t condone or agree with his steroid use, as a fan, I feel that McGuire was an amazing baseball player.

This is why I am excited to see him return to baseball this season as the new hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals. Mark McGuire has a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience that will greatly benefit the Cardinals hitters. This is where he belongs.

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