Juan Nicasio (1-3, 3.86 ERA) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (2-0) meet Mike Leake (11-10, 3.70 ERA) and the St. Louis Cardinals (0-2) in the last of a three-game division series at PNC Park. The Pirates won the last game 6-5, and Pittsburgh leads the series 2-0. Action gets underway at 7:05 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Apr. 6 and can be seen on FSMW and RTPT.
Nicasio will get the start after pitching 58.1 innings last year, wrapping up the season with a 1-3 record, 3.86 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, and 65 strikeouts. Andrew McCutchen (.429 ) continued his strong start to the season yesterday, going 3 for 5 with one run and one RBI. Leake will get the start on the other side. Last season, he pitched 192.0 innings, going 11-10 with a 3.70 ERA 1.16 WHIP, and 36 strikeouts. Stephen Piscotty (.286 ) has been hitting the ball well to start the season for the Cardinals, going 2 for 4 yesterday with one run.
The odds are even for this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is currently unavailable. The Pirates are a superb hitting team with a .304 team batting average, one of the highest marks in the MLB.
Opposing pitchers have routinely struggled to strike out the St. Louis batters, who rank second in the NL with 13.5 strikeouts per game.
The Pirates have the edge in the season series, 2-0.
Predictions: SU Winner – PIT
Notes
The Cardinals lost their last game by a one-run margin. In games decided by one run, the Pirates are 1-0. The Cardinals are 0-1 in close games this season.
The Pirates are coming off of a hot pitching game where they recorded 13 strikeouts. The Cardinals have a record of 0-2 when they are struck out that many times or more.
It looks like the Pirates have a slight leg up on the Cardinals, as the Pirates have won their last two games while the Cardinals have lost their last two.
Ranking 14th, St. Louis sits in the top half of the league in runs, scoring six this season. Pittsburgh ranks in the top 10 at eighth with 10.
Pittsburgh and St. Louis both rank in the top five of the league in walks. Pittsburgh sits at fifth with seven this season and St. Louis ranks fourth with eight.
