The St. Louis Cardinals will be facing off against their divisional rival Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. The matchup gets underway at 4:05 p.m. ET and you can watch it on either ATPT or FSMW.
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Odds
St. Louis (-110) is the favorite over Pittsburgh (+100) and Vegas has the Over/Under for this afternoon game at 8.5 runs (-120 for the under and +100 for the over). Bettors can also wager on the game’s runline with the most recent odds coming in at Cardinals -1.5 runs (+135) and Pirates +1.5 runs (-155).
The Pirates are 28-22 SU and 23-26 ATS. They’ve gained 2.3 units for bettors taking the moneyline while earning 1.6 units against the spread (ATS). The Cardinals have gone 26-22 SU this year and are 22-25 ATS. In total, the team’s lost 1.5 units for gamblers taking the moneyline and 3.9 units ATS.
Pittsburgh games have an over/under record of 25-19-5 so far in 2018. The Cardinals have been a decent under bet with a total record of 18-26-3.
Jack Flaherty is getting the nod for the visiting Cardinals. The right-handed Flaherty is 1-1 with a 2.31 ERA and 27 strikeouts. He’s 0-1 with two strikeouts and a 5.40 ERA against Pittsburgh this year.
The Pirates will turn to righty Trevor Williams (5-2, 3.05 ERA), who has 40 strikeouts and 20 walks as well as a 1.08 WHIP. Williams is 1-0 with two strikeouts and a 3.00 ERA over one starts against St. Louis this year.
Pittsburgh’s pitchers have allowed 4.4 runs per game overall this year as a unit. The club’s starting pitching staff has an ERA of 4.16, a WHIP of 1.23 and a strikeouts-per-nine of 7.5. The bullpen has a 3.88 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 9.8 K/9. In 17 divisional games, Pirates starters have an ERA of 3.10 and the bullpen’s ERA is 4.47.
Pittsburgh’s hitters are putting up 4.9 runs per contest, including 5.9 per game against divisional foes and 4.8 per game over their last five. The team has slashed .269/.343/.457 over its last five games and is 2-3 SU during that span.
The Pirates’ hitters have been led by outfielders Corey Dickerson and Starling Marte. Dickerson is hitting .319/.357/.505 with five home runs, 31 RBIs and 23 runs scored, while Marte’s line is .308/.366/.503 with six homers, 19 RBIs, 30 runs and 10 steals.
Compared to his overall season slash line of .275/.333/.379, Marte enjoyed batting against righties at home last year, slashing .374/.447/.565 across 132 plate appearances.
For the visitors, St. Louis’ pitchers have allowed 3.9 runs per game and its starters own a 2.99 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 8.24 K/9. The bullpen has an ERA of 4.39, along with a K/9 of 8.30.
The Cardinals offense has slashed .238/.318/.389 on its way to 4.3 runs scored per game in 2018, including 4.8 runs per game against divisional foes and 3.0 per game over the team’s last five outings (2-3 SU).
St. Louis’ hitters have been led by first baseman Jose Martinez and outfielder Marcell Ozuna. Martinez is slashing .306/.379/.462 with five home runs, 30 RBIs and 19 runs scored, while Ozuna (.260/.301/.343) has produced three homers, 22 RBIs and 17 runs scored.
Compared to his total season slash line of .309/.379/.518, Martinez did not do especially well against righties on the road in 2017, maintaining a slash line of .257/.333/.371 across 117 such plate appearances.
The Cardinals have lost 4.9 units and are 14-21 ATS when facing a right-handed starting pitcher this year. The over has hit in 13 of those games, as opposed to 19 that’ve gone under in such games. On the other hand, the Pirates have netted 1.6 units and are 19-20 ATS when facing a right-handed starting pitcher. The over’s hit in 17 of those games, as opposed to 17 which went under the total.
St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates Free Prediction
Predictions: SU Winner – Pirates, ATS Winner – Pirates, O/U – OVER
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Notes
Betting Trends
The under has hit in three of Pittsburgh’s last seven games.
St. Louis has recorded 22.5 Runs + Hits + Errors per game over its last 10 outings and 20.6 over its last five.
The Cardinals have hit nine home runs in their last 10 games. The Pirates have hit eight over their last 10.
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