Mets, Cardinals National League Best Bets for August 12

There are multiple games today beginning this evening on the National League schedule, and there’s value to target in these spots. Below, you can find both games from the National League and some of our best bets on the FanDuel Sportsbook.Philadelphia Phillies (+198) vs. New York Mets (-240) Total: 7 (O -114, U -106)

The Philadelphia Phillies are set to visit the New York Mets for an important three-game series from Citi Field. Both teams enter this series playing some great baseball, with the Mets winners of six straight and owning an 8-2 record over their past ten, while the Phillies are 8-2 over that same sample. The Phillies will be in tough to cut into the Mets’ 10.5-game lead over them in the NL East. Still, they’ll be looking to solidify their standing in the Wild Card, which is still up in the air in the National League.

Pitching has been an area where both sides have had success at the top of their rotations this year, with the Mets having an overall advantage. The home side will send one of the last generation’s best pitchers to the mound with Max Scherzer, while the visitors are expected to be countering with lefthander Ranger Suarez. Scherzer has been dominant when healthy, owning an 8-2 record with a sparkling 1.98 ERA and 120 strikeouts, while Suarez is 8-5 with a 3.68 ERA and 85 punchouts. Both arms have been great this season, which is evidenced by the low total of seven runs. 

The Mets have been consistent and offer bettors value on most slates. Even with the low total, Scherzer makes the Mets hard to avoid. Their moneyline price isn’t appetizing at -240, but if you look towards the run line, they own a fair price of -104, which warrants consideration.

Best Bet: Mets run line (-104)

The Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals will kick off a significant three-game series tonight from Busch Stadium. The Cards enter this series with a 0.5-game lead over Milwaukee for the top spot in the NL Central. It was always expected to be a two-horse race between these two teams, and this series could play an important role in giving one side an edge down the stretch. Both of these teams have done an admirable job of beating up on the other three teams in the NL Central, but things should become clearer in this race during their six meetings scheduled down the stretch. St. Louis enters this Friday night tilt with a 35-20 home record, while the Brew Crew are 31-28 as the visitors. 

There have certainly been bright spots in both of these rotations, but the Brewers likely have an edge in terms of overall quality. The opening pitching matchup will feature two quality lefthander, with Eric Lauer taking the hill for the Brewers while the Cards counter with Jordan Montgomery. Lauer has posted an 8-3 record with a 3.59 ERA and 111 strikeouts, while Montgomery is 4-3 with a 3.53 ERA and 98 punchouts. Both sides have shown some offensive success against the opposing starting pitchers, but the one thing that should go the Cards’ way is they have the fourth highest OPS in the league against lefthanded starters.

With the Cardinals’ dominance of lefties, it’s not hard to look in their direction to open up this series. St. Louis’ moneyline sits at -166, which is fine, but the more attractive price is taking the Red Birds on the run line at +128.

Best Bet: Cardinals run line (+128)