Cardinals tab Wacha to take down Pirates
Sitting one game behind San Francisco for the second NL wild-card spot with two to play, the Cardinals need Michael Wacha to come up big this afternoon. Will the righty flash his vintage form?
St. Louis hosts Pittsburgh at 1:05 p.m. ET, with oddsmakers expecting No. 52 to set the tone early. But while Mike Matheny’s team is favored by online sports book BetDSI, the Pirates enter Busch Stadium as +145 underdogs. The over/under run figure rests at 8.5.
Wacha initially rose to prominence as a playoff standout in 2013. This season, however, has been filled with anything but prowess. The Texas A&M product will start for the first time since Aug. 8, when he permitted four runs in five innings to Cincinnati. Right shoulder inflammation forced Wacha to the sidelines thereafter, and recent relief outings were exceedingly shaky.
Yet Matheny’s rotation options are limited at the moment. He’ll send Wacha into the fray against Chad Kuhl, who was tagged for eight runs by the Cubs earlier in the week. The Delaware native relishes pitching away from PNC Park, though, having gone 3-1 with a 2.55 ERA in seven turns.
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Pittsburgh’s already assured of its first losing campaign in four years. Still, last night’s 7-0 setback served as an anomaly of sorts. These two division rivals consistently engage in highly competitive matchups, and this matinee shouldn’t be any different.
SATURDAY MLB FREE PICK: PIRATES/CARDINALS OVER 8.5 RUNS