In the second of a three-game series between the Pittsburgh Pirates (13-16) and the St. Louis Cardinals (13-16) at PNC Park, Vance Worley (2-2, 3.90 ERA) and Carlos Martinez (3-0, 3.64 ERA) get the ball. The Cardinals won the last game 8-5 and St. Louis leads the series 1-0. The game starts at 7:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, May. 9 and will air on FSN-MW and ROOT-PIT.
Worley is 0-0 with a 4.03 ERA against the Cardinals in his career, and is up against a strong St. Louis offense that’s hitting .273 on the year. Starling Marte (.275, 15 Rs, 7 HRs, 21 RBIs, 5 SBs) continued his strong season yesterday, going 3 for 4 with one RBI. In his career against the Pirates, Martinez is 0-1 with a 4.41 ERA. He meets a struggling Pittsburgh offense that’s batting just .233. Matt Holliday (.340, 15 Rs, 2 HRs, 17 RBIs, 2 SBs) went 1 for 4 yesterday with one run, one home run, and three RBIs.
Pittsburgh is favored by a slight -109 margin in its matchup against St. Louis. Oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at seven runs. The Pirates are 10-8 as the favorite and have an overall money line of -427. They have a 9-13 record SU and are 6-6 as favorite within their division. Whenever an NL Central opponent shows up on the calendar, the Pirates seem to struggle with pitching. They allow an average of 3.2 runs per game, but allow 3.7 against teams from their own division.
Moving on to the away team, the Cardinals come into this game with a solid win percentage of .600 when playing as the underdog (3-2) and an overall money line of +1,252. Against divisional foes, they are 16-5 SU and have played well as the underdog with a 2-1 record. During the last 10 games, they averaged 5.9 runs per game, above their 4.5 season average. The Cardinals are a problem for opposing batters, sporting an NL-low 2.53 ERA this season. They also average just 8.1 hits allowed per game, fifth-best in the NL. They also have some of the most overpowering arms in the NL with an average of 8.3 strikeouts per game.
The previous four games have all gone St. Louis’s way. The Pirates will take on a right-hander (Martinez) in this game and have a 13-13 record against right-handed starting pitchers this season. Taking the hill against the Cardinals will be the right-hander Worley. They sport an 18-4 record against righties.
Predictions: SU Winner – STL, O/U – Over
Notes
Pittsburgh has won 33% (3-6) of its games when leading after 7 innings. However, St. Louis has won 77% (10-3) of its games when taking a late lead.
The Pirates are coming into this game after allowing one walk during their last outing. The Cardinals have a 6-0 record when opponents give up that many walks or fewer.
When they are outhit, the Pirates are 2-11. The Cardinals have a 5-2 record when opponents outhit them.
Pittsburgh ranks near the bottom of the league at 21st when it comes to home runs, hitting 21 this season. St. Louis ranks in the bottom half at 19th with 22.
Ranking 12th, Pittsburgh is in the top half of the league in hits, notching 7.82 per game. St. Louis ranks in the top five at third with 9.43.
Ranking 28th, Pittsburgh is near the bottom of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.636). St. Louis ranks in the top 10 at seventh with an OPS of .749.
The Cardinals are 8-4 in games where they allow one or more home runs. The Pirates are 3-10 when they allow at least one homer.
