The St. Louis Cardinals are set to face their divisional rival Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. The matchup starts at 1:35 p.m. ET and you can watch the game on ATPT and FSMW.
St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates Odds
Oddsmakers have listed Pittsburgh (+145) as the underdog to St. Louis (-155). The total is sitting at 8 runs and bettors can wager on the over for -125 or the under for +105. Bettors can also wager on the game’s spread with the current runline odds sitting at Cardinals -1.5 runs (-110) and Pirates 1.5 runs (-110).
The Pirates are 16-11 SU and 14-12 ATS. The team’s gained 2.8 units for bettors taking the moneyline and 3.4 units against the spread (ATS). The Cardinals, on the other hand, have gone 15-11 SU this year and are 14-11 ATS. In total, the team’s gained 2.5 units for moneyline bettors in this young season and 1.9 units ATS.
Pittsburgh games have had an over/under record of 14-9-3 so far in 2018. St. Louis has an over/under record of 13-11-1.
Right-hander Luke Weaver is projected to start for the visiting Cardinals. Weaver is 2-1 with a 4.85 ERA and 24 strikeouts. He has yet to face the Pirates this year and only made one start against them in 2017 (1-0, 0.00 ERA and eight strikeouts across seven and two-third innings).
The Pirates are turning to righty Nick Kingham (0-0, ERA), who has zero strikeouts and zero walks to his credit as well as a WHIP of . Kingham did not accrue any MLB pitching stats last season.
St. Louis’ pitching staff allowed 3.7 runs per game and its starting pitchers own a 3.19 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 8.24 K/9. The bullpen has an ERA of 3.61, along with a WHIP of 1.22.
The Cardinals offense has slashed .241/.328/.398 on its way to 4.8 runs scored per game this season, including 5.3 runs per game against divisional foes and 5.0 per game over the team’s last five contests (2-3 SU).
Right fielder Tommy Pham and first baseman Jose Martinez have led St. Louis’ offense. Pham is hitting .353/.461/.529 with three home runs, 10 RBIs, 22 runs and five stolen bases, while Martinez has a .306 average with three homers, 18 RBIs and 10 runs scored.
Pham performed well against right-handed pitching on the road last season, putting up a slash line of .352/.438/.633 across 226 such plate appearances (compared to his overall season line of .306/.411/.520).
For the home team, Pittsburgh’s pitching staff has given up 4.4 runs per game overall this season. Its starters have a 3.95 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 6.9 strikeouts per nine innings. The bullpen has a 4.47 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 9.3 K/9. In nine games against NL Central foes, Pirates starters have an ERA of 3.23 and the bullpen’s ERA is 5.59.
Pittsburgh’s hitters are putting up 5.0 runs per outing, including 6.6 per game against divisional foes and 6.2 per game over their last five. The team’s hit .304/.388/.459 over its last five games and is 4-1 SU during that span.
Catcher Francisco Cervelli and right fielder Starling Marte have led the Pirates’ offense this year. Cervelli is hitting .307/.393/.573 with four home runs, 20 RBIs and 10 runs scored, and Marte’s line is .290/.372/.458 with three homers, 11 RBIs, 20 runs and eight stolen bases.
Marte appeared to enjoy facing righties at home in 2017, slashing .374/.447/.565 over 132 such plate appearances (his overall season line was .275/.333/.379).
The Cardinals have gained 0.9 units and are 9-8 ATS when facing a righty starter this season. The over has cashed in nine of those games, compared to seven that’ve gone under against right-handed starting pitchers. On the other hand, the Pirates have netted 2.2 units and are 11-10 ATS when facing a righty starter. The over has cashed in nine of those games, compared to nine that went under the total.
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Pirates MLB Prediction
Predictions: SU Winner – Cardinals, ATS Winner – Cardinals, O/U – OVER
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Notes
Betting Trends
The over has cashed in three of Pittsburgh’s last seven games.
Pittsburgh has posted 22.8 Runs + Hits + Errors per game over its last 10 contests and 28.2 over its last five.
Each team has hit nine home runs over its last 10 games.
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