Expect Shane Bieber to Rack Up Strikeouts Against Cardinals Tonight

The MLB strikeout leader is set to return to the mound tonight when Shane Bieber and the Cleveland Indians take on Carlos Martinez and the St. Louis Cardinals.

Bieber, who had a rough stretch in May by giving up 11 earned runs and 31 hits through his first four starts of the month, has returned to form in his last two starts, giving up only three earned runs and six hits in his last 14 innings pitched.

While his ERA may not be up there with the Jacob deGrom's or Lance Lynn's of the world, he’s unmatched when it comes to strikeouts. He currently leads all of Major League Baseball with 117 K's, which is a strikeouts per nine innings average of 13.3.

It’s rare to see Bieber’s strikeout total set below eight, so this is a fantastic opportunity to pounce on the over. He has surpassed 7.5 strikeouts in nine of his 12 starts this season, which included a run of eight-plus strikeouts in his first eight starts of the 2021 campaign.

We’ve seen a slight regression in his strikeout rate in recent starts, as the only three times he didn’t record at least eight strikeouts came in three of his last four games. There’s no indication this is a long-term problem for the 26-year old, and the low total set by Vegas tonight is an overreaction to a temporary slump.

The Cardinals have also suffered issues with strikeouts recently, as they’ve struck out as a team on 28.2% of plate appearances through their last three games for an average of 11 K's per game.

WynnBET has the Indians set as the home favorites at -165, with the Cardinals coming back as +140 underdogs. The total for the game is set at seven runs.