St. Louis @ Philadelphia picks

Facing St. Louis right-hander Jon Gray, Philadelphia batters have posted an impressive slash line of .346/.448/.748 over 78 at-bats. Meanwhile, Phillies starter Aaron Nola has been extremely effective in his career against Cardinals hitters, allowing just a .196 BA and .585 OPS. Back Philly to cover the run line at home.

While Bryce Harper isn’t having the greatest campaign with a .232 average and just seven home runs, there’s reason to believe he could smack No. 8 today in Game 1 of a doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cards hand Erick Fedde the ball, and Harper has made his life a nightmare. The slugger is 11-for-22 lifetime with six home runs and nine RBI. Harper has truly dominated Fedde, and that does mean something in baseball. Expect Harper to string together some hits, and my MLB picks believe one of them could potentially land in the bleachers.

Sonny Gray is having a solid campaign as the St. Louis Cardinals’ ace, going 4-1 with a 3.50 ERA in eight starts. He’s only walked 11 in 46 1/3 innings of work while striking out 47 hitters. That will be my focus for tonight’s bet. The right-hander has cashed the Over in Ks in three of his last four outings. Gray racked up eight strikeouts against the Pittsburgh Pirates last week and also sat down six New York Mets via the K in the start before that. The veteran has faced the Philadelphia Phillies a lot in his career. He owns a 3.41 ERA lifetime against them, striking out 42 batters in 37 innings.