Cardinals vs. Pirates Sunday Prediction
The first two games of the Cardinals and Pirates series were both high-scoring. Will it be the opposite on Sunday when the National League Central rivals play the rubber match at 1:35 p.m. ET?
Game Snapshot & Odds
905 St. Louis Cardinals (-105) at 906 Pittsburgh Pirates (-105); 8.5 runs
Sunday, August 5, 2018
1:35 p.m. ET, PNC Park
TV: STL (FSMW); PIT (ATTP)
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Public Betting Trends
Oddsmakers from online sportsbooks currently list the Twins as a -118 favorite. As of this writing, 60% of the betting tickets wagered at online sportsbooks are on the Twins to beat the Cardinals on the moneyline. This information is subject to change, however, so be sure to check out our MLB Public Betting Page for updated figures on this game.
Cardinals’ Flaherty charged with four runs vs. Rockies
Jack Flaherty struck out seven but was charged with four runs across 5 1/3 frames in Tuesday’s loss to the Rockies. The Rockies couldn’t get anything going against Flaherty over the first four innings, as he yielded just three singles and no runs. However, Charlie Blackmon slugged a two-out, two-run homer in the fifth and Flaherty allowed two of the three batters he faced in the sixth to reach and one to score before he was pulled. An additional run was charged to his ledger when reliever Chasen Shreve let an inherited runner score. Flaherty struck out plenty of batters in July but failed to pitch deep into games and saw his ERA climb from 2.92 to 3.49.
Pirates’ Williams shuts out Mets for six frames in win
Trevor Williams tossed six innings of shutout baseball to beat the Mets 5-0 on Saturday. He scattered five hits and three walks while striking out five batters in the strong outing. He has been a better than average pitcher this year despite a mediocre strikeout rate. He’s done a good job of limiting walks and keeping the ball in the yard. Williams improves to 9-7 with a 3.89 ERA after 21 starts.
MLB Betting Trends
St. Louis
The Cardinals are just 1-7 in Flathery’s last eight starts.
Pittsburgh
The Pirates have won 17 of their last 23 games overall.
Prediction:
Even though the over hit the first two games of this series, the under is still 11-6-2 in the last 19 meetings between these two teams. The under is also 33-16-3 in the Cardinals’ last 52 games when playing the third game of a series and has cashed in five of their last eight divisional games. On the other side, the under is 27-10-1 in Williams’ last 38 starts overall, is 4-1 in his last five home starts and is 11-3-1 in his last 15 starts versus the National League Central.
The Pick: Cardinals/Pirates under 8.5