The Cardinals have won 4 straight at home, and have a great 1-2 punch at the moment. They have the best offense in the league over the last two weeks, and an .861 OPS at the moment. They are also the toughest team against left handers for the season, and face D-backs’ rookie lefty Tommy Henry on Friday. Henry is just three games into his career, with one very good start and two of the fair to good variety. He gave up 3 runs in 5+ innings in Colorado in his last start. Henry is not without talent but faces a tough opponent in the Cards.

The Cardinals start Mikolas (9-9,3.44) on Friday. Mikolas was embarrassed by Colorado, allowing 10 runs over 2.2 innings, but bounced back with an 8 inning 2 run effort in his last start. He has had a couple of very poor starts and they are usually on the road. His road ERA is 2 runs higher than at home.

The Cardinals are below .500 on the road, and just 8-6 as a road favorite. They have split their games with Arizona this year. The Diamondbacks come off an impressive 4 -3 road trip vs. the Giants and Rockies, and are above .500 at home. They have had very good relief pitching of late; better than the Cardinals, and are getting better than average hitting as well. Henry looked very sharp in his last two starts, and Mikolas’ potential road struggles are a concern. I am looking for the Diamondbacks to surprise the Cardinals, and to win or to stay close on Friday. Take Arizona on the run line at + 1 ½.