Cards lefty Steven Matz has a great matchup Thursday afternoon against the A's. Oakland sports a .599 OPS against lefties, fourth-worst. Matz owns a 1.80 ERA and has not allowed a homer in three starts. He's yet to pitch more than 5.1 innings, but this matchup should enable him to put together his longest start yet.

Paul Blackburn has gotten off to an exceptional start to the season having not given up a single earned run over 19.1 innings pitched and three quality outings. While Blackburn has been flawless he's failed to record five strikeouts in a game. If we look under the hood, Blackburn is actually running quite cold on strikeouts and is a major positive regression candidate. Blackburn is delivering a career high 12.2% swinging strike percentage, compared to his career average of 8.8%, however his K rate is 15.4%, after delivering over 20% in back to back seasons. This is also a solid matchup against a Saint Louis team ranked 12th K rate.

Getaway game for the Cards at the end of a six-game West Coast trip so a natural trap spot and likely a key hitter(s) gets the game off. Oakland's Paul Blackburn didn't allow an earned run this spring and hasn't yet in 19.1 regular-season innings. Can't say I expect that streak to continue but am quite sure we cash if so (just jinxed the A's bullpen -- which has blown two potential Blackburn wins).