Dustin May Tries to Spread His Way Through Arizona

Dustin May and his signature sinker traveling to the desert is a reasonably pleasant baseball subplot on its own. The St. Louis Cardinals right-hander faces Brandon Pfaadt of the Arizona Diamondbacks in an interleague series that carries modest but genuine stakes for both clubs searching for second-half momentum.

Jordan Walker is the Cardinals’ story worth watching, hitting .294 with 22 home runs — the kind of production from a young bat that makes a franchise dare to dream. On the Arizona side, Ketel Marte has 17 home runs and Ildemaro Vargas is contributing at .258, giving the Diamondbacks a functional but not explosive offense on this occasion.

The STL -1.5 RL line puts the Cardinals as road favorites, which speaks to their current form. There is no storied rivalry here, no farewell tour, no revenge dinner being served cold. This is two organizations playing baseball with something to gain and no particular dramatic backstory to lean on.

The Walker subplot provides flavor but the jar doesn’t rattle — rating this a smooth.