Jaime Garcia (7-4, 2.03 ERA) gets the ball for the St. Louis Cardinals (86-48) as they go up against Charlie Morton (8-6, 4.22 ERA) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (80-53) in the second of a three-game series at Busch Stadium. The Pirates won the last game 9-3 and Pittsburgh leads the series 1-0. The game starts at 4:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, Sep. 5 and will air on FS1 and FSMW.
In his last start, Garcia pitched 6.1 innings, allowing four runs and striking out one in a 7-5 victory over the Giants. The Pirates were unsuccessful to the Rockies 5-0 the last time Morton pitched. He went 6.0 innings, allowing three runs (two unearned), striking out six and walking two. Andrew McCutchen (.305, 79 Rs, 20 HRs, 85 RBIs, 7 SBs) has been hitting the ball well for the Pirates, going 2 for 4 yesterday with three runs.
St. Louis is a -145 favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at seven runs. The Cardinals have a winning record of 72-29 when playing as the favorite and an overall money line of +2,875. They are 8-2 SU and perfect as the favorite (6-0) in their last 10 games. St. Louis has averaged 5.8 runs per game over the last 10 games, higher than its season average of 4.1. Transitioning to the pitching staff, the Cardinals lead the NL in ERA with a 2.66 team average. An area where the Cardinals are particularly strong is striking batters out, where they average 8.1 K’s per game.
On the other side, the Pirates have a record of 16-21 when they are the underdog and are +1,491 overall with the money line. Against divisional opponents, they are 21-32 SU and have played poorly as the underdog with a 5-14 record. They have the second-lowest road ERA in the NL at 3.60.
This game will feature Morton (RHP) on the mound against the Cardinals, who have a 39-12 home and 67-32 overall record when they take on a right-handed starter. Taking the hill against the Pirates will be the left-hander Garcia. They sport a 15-12 record against southpaws.
Predictions: SU Winner – StL, O/U – Over
Notes
After last game’s shutout win against the Pittsburgh, the Cardinals now have 14 shutouts this season. The Pirates have been shut out in nine games this season.
Having scored zero runs in their last game, the Cardinals are going to have to up their game if they want to win this matchup. The Pirates have an 11-0 record in games where opponents scored that many runs.
When they are outhit, the Pirates are 18-41. The Cardinals have a 22-31 record when opponents outhit them.
St. Louis and Pittsburgh both rank near the bottom of the league in home runs. St. Louis sits at 22nd with 112 home runs this season and Pittsburgh ranks 21st with 114.
St. Louis and Pittsburgh both rank in the top five of the league in hits. St. Louis sits at fifth with 8.74 hits per game and Pittsburgh ranks fourth with 9.01.
Ranking 16th, Pittsburgh is in the bottom half of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.720). St. Louis ranks in the top half at 15th with an OPS of .721.
The Pirates are 33-32 when they allow at least one home run. The Cardinals perform similarly when they allow one or more homers with a 35-32 record.
