World Series Game 1 Predictions: Cardinals vs. Rangers

Written by Jake Thompson
Wednesday, 19 October 2011 16:05

MLB predictions are ready for game 1 of the 2011 World Series between the Rangers and the Cardinals.

The Texas Rangers (103-69) are on the road for game 1 of the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals (97-76), and the 8:05 PM ET game will be shown live on FOX.  We’ll preview what both World Series teams do well and poorly before releasing predictions on the final score of game 1.  The Cardinals are currently -122 betting favorites at Legends Sportsbook, and these guys are offering a 25% cash bonus to our readers that wish to wager on game 1 of the World Series.

Texas and St. Louis haven’t met up since a 3-game interleague clash in the 2004 season in which the Cardinals won 2-of-3.  Starting pitchers for game 1 will be left-hander C.J. Wilson (16-9, 1.23 WHIP, 3.28 ERA) for the Rangers and right-hander Chris Carpenter (13-9, 1.25 WHIP, 3.47 ERA) for the Cardinals.  Despite Carpenter’s dominance over a lengthy period of time, he was on the mound for the only game St. Louis lost against Texas in 2004.

Wilson has given up 14 earned runs over his last 3 starts while pitching very poorly in the MLB postseason.  Although the southpaw has seen his share of bad breaks, he’s also contributed to his ineffectiveness by being all too hittable.  He’s never pitched against the Cardinals, and St. Louis has hit only .260 against left-handed pitching this year.  That being said, the Cardinals are hitting .288 over their last 10 games and are seeing the ball very well.

St. Louis has won 7 of the last 8 games in which Carpenter has started, and the veteran hasn’t allowed over 4 runs in any of those starts.  The Rangers have hit .278 on the year against right-handed pitching, but that mark drops to .268 when they are away from their batter-friendly home confines.  Texas has hit just .256 over their last 10 games, but they’ve been putting up plenty of runs thanks to their power-producing lineup.

The bullpens are both excellent and I don’t see much of an edge when it comes to the late-inning relievers.  Game 1 of the World Series will come down to how the starting pitchers matchup against their opposing offenses, and I believe that Carpenter has the best chance to achieve success.  He’s given up just 1 long ball over his last 6 starts despite pitching 3 of those games in a home run-friendly park against the Phillies, and I believe he’ll be able to induce groundouts against the Rangers.  Wilson should pitch better than he has lately, but ultimately the Cardinals are hitting well enough to put up enough runs to take a win here.

World Series Game 1 Predictions:

Rangers 3

Cardinals 5