St. Louis Cardinals vs Houston Astros Prediction: An evenly matched contest

In Major League Baseball action on Friday, the Houston Astros and the St. Louis Cardinals will square off against one another at Busch Stadium in what will be the third and final game in a series between the two teams. The first game of the series was won by the Cardinals by a score of two runs, but on Thursday, Houston tied the score by scoring three runs to win the game.

St. Louis Cardinals - Cardinals positive of winning again

Wednesday's game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Astros was decided by two runs scored in the fifth inning. The St. Louis Cardinals were up 6-3 heading into the sixth inning of game two, but they ended up losing the game. Miles Mikolas was given the start and pitched 5.2 innings, during which he allowed five earned runs, seven hits, and three walks. On Friday, Adam Wainwright will take the field as the starting pitcher. Wainwright has a record of 3-2 on the season with a 6.56 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 46.2 innings pitched over his nine starts. In his career, Wainwright has played 466 games (399 starts) and has a record of 198-119 with a 3.44 earned run average. The St. Louis Cardinals have a record of 3-11 in their previous 14 games against teams from the AL West and a record of 2-6 in their last eight games played in game three of a series. In the last seven games that St. Louis has played in game three of a series, under has a record of 5-2.

Houston Astros - Astros could make it two in a row

Although they started the first game of this series on Wednesday with a 2-0 lead, the Houston Astros were ultimately defeated by a score of 4-2. On Thursday, the Houston Astros won a comeback game 10-7 after scoring five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. The starter, Cristian Javier, was only able to complete four innings and allowed six earned runs, eight hits, and one walk. JP France of the Houston Astros will take the mound on Friday as the starting pitcher. France has a record of 2-3 with a 3.54 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 53.1 innings pitched over his nine appearances this season, the first nine starts of his career. The Houston Astros have compiled a record of 39-12 over their last 51 games played on Friday and a record of 49-18 over their last 67 games played in game three of a series. In their last 21 games against teams that have a losing record, the Houston Astros have a record of 15-6.

Expert Betting Tips

I'm going to side with the Astros on this one. However, each of the starters could benefit from a strong performance. In his last two starts, France has thrown 12.2 innings while allowing five earned runs, although he has had a losing record throughout this stretch. During Wainwright's most recent start, he allowed seven earned runs on 11 hits while also walking one batter, but only went 3.0 innings. In spite of this, the Houston Astros bullpen was effective, tossing 5.0 innings with just one earned run, three hits, and nine strikeouts. In the decisive game of the series, I think the Astros will emerge victorious.