Cardinals vs. Pirates Pick
Can the host Pittsburgh Pirates turn the tables or will the St. Louis Cardinals continue to dominate the series Saturday? First pitch is at 4:05PM EST.
Oddsmakers at sports book BetDSI have made the Cardinals a -121 favorite to win, while the Pirates are listed as a +110 underdog. The over-under is set at 9.
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The Cardinals turn to Michael Wacha (9-5, 3.85 ERA) on the mound, while the Pirates starter will be Chad Kuhl (5-8, 4.64). Since pitching a complete-game shutout against the Mets on July 18, Wacha has been up and down in the five starts since. He has a 4.80 ERA in three August starts, coming off a 6-3 loss at home versus the Braves where he allowed four earned runs in five innings. St. Louis is 11-11 in his 22 starts this year. Kuhl is a mediocre starting pitcher who is usually incapable of putting the Pirates on his back, although he can be a serviceable MLB starter most of the time. Pittsburgh is 9-15 in his 24 starts this year, including a 7-1 loss at Toronto in his last start in which he gave up five runs (four earned) in five innings, striking out six and walking five. He comes in with a WHIP of 1.44.
St. Louis is 63-59 and 28-32 on the road, while Pittsburgh is 58-64 and 32-28 at home. The Cardinals won the first two games in the series by scores of 11-7 and 11-10.
On Friday, the Cardinals held off a Pirates rally attempt for the one-run win in an offensive outburst by both teams. St. Louis held an 11-3 lead until Pittsburgh scored five runs in the eighth and two in the ninth to make it interesting. Tommy Pham, Paul DeJong and Matt Carpenter all homered in the winning effort. Seung-Hwan Oh recorded the final two outs to pick up his 19th save, while Carlos Martinez allowed three runs over seven innings to earn the win. Josh Harrison, David Freese and Max Moroff each hit a home run for the Pirates. Trevor Williams was shelled for eight runs in three innings and was saddled with the loss.
The last two games have gone way over the total in a pitcher’s park. Look for this game to even things out a bit, especially in the daylight. Wacha is typically an effective pitcher, while Kuhl has his moments where he mows hitters down. It’s time for these two offenses to cool down.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: CARDINALS/PIRATES UNDER 9