Cardinals vs. Pirates Pick
Are the St. Louis Cardinals going to win a fourth straight game when they open a series at the Pittsburgh Pirates Friday night at 7:05PM EST?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, the Cardinals are listed as a -148 favorite to win on the moneyline. The Pirates are a +128 underdog and the over-under is set at 8.5.
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The pitching matchup for today has Michael Wacha (12-8, 4.02 ERA) going for the Cardinals, while Ivan Nova (11-12, 4.20) is on the mound for the Pirates. Wacha has a 1.38 WHIP with 146 strikeouts in 154 2/3 innings. He allowed three earned runs on six hits with seven strikeouts and five walks over 5 2/3 innings in a 4-1 loss at the Cubs his last start. Wacha has a 5.07 ERA in 71 road innings. Nova has a 1.24 WHIP with 127 strikeouts in 180 innings. He gave up two earned runs on three hits with six strikeouts and one walk over 6 1/3 innings in a 2-1 loss at the Reds his last outing. Nova sports a 2.87 ERA over 69 home innings.
St. Louis comes in at 80-72 and 38-40 on the road, while Pittsburgh is 69-84 and 40-36 at home. The Cardinals have won six of the last 10 meetings and the total has gone over seven times including the last four games.
On Thursday, the Cardinals finished a three-game sweep with an 8-5 win at Cincinnati. Matt Carpenter went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run at the top of the lineup. Tommy Pham was 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs. Dexter Fowler was 3-for-5 with two doubles, two runs and two RBIs. Jose Martinez was 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI. Yadier Molina went 1-for-2 with a double, two walks, a run and two RBIs. Kolton Wong was 2-for-4 with a walk, a run and an RBI. Carlos Martinez gave up four earned runs in 6 1/3 innings to get the win. The Pirates snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 6-4 home win over the Brewers on Wednesday. Adam Frazier was 2-for-5 with a walk-off home run, a triple, two runs and four RBIs. Starling Marte finished 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Felipe Rivero earned the win in relief.
The Cardinals are flying high right now, while the Pirates lost 13 of 14 games before their walk-off win Wednesday. Wacha hasn’t been the same pitcher on the road this season, but he should be in fine form with St. Louis needing every win it can get in the tight NL Wild Card race. Nova is reliable and very good at home, but the problem is that his team is mostly checked out at this point.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: ST. LOUIS CARDINALS -148