Last Updated on August 17, 2017 5:05 pm by dpatrick
Cardinals vs. Pirates Pick
Will hitting or pitching prevail when the St. Louis Cardinals wrap up their series with the host Pittsburgh Pirates Thursday at 7:05PM EST?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, the Pirates are a -136 favorite to win. The Cardinals are listed as a +116 underdog, while the over-under is set at 9.
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Pitching for the Cardinals today is Adam Wainwright (12-5, 4.87 ERA), while the Pirates counter with Jameson Taillon (7-5, 4.50). Wainwright is a different pitcher when he’s on the road and not in a good way. His road numbers this season include a 7.00 ERA in 11 starts, somehow still managing a 4-4 record due to generous run support. He has an 8-1 record at home with a 3.08 ERA. His WHIP for the season is 1.46, proving Wainwright is much more hittable than he was two or three years ago. Taillon’s ERA was inflated by a pair of horrible starts on July 25 and August 1 in which he surrendered 17 earned runs in 6 1/3 innings. But he has bounced back with back-to-back encouraging starts, giving up two earned runs in each. He most recently allowed two runs on six hits with seven strikeouts and a walk over six innings in a 4-2 win at Toronto.
Thursday’s game is the opener of a four-game series. St. Louis leads the season series by a count of 5-4. The Pirates enter with a 58-62 overall record and 32-26 at home, while the Cardinals are 61-59 and 26-32 on the road.
Pittsburgh has lost four in a row on the road between Toronto and Milwaukee, the last being Wednesday’s 7-6 loss to the Brewers. St. Louis has lost three in a row, the last being a 5-4 defeat at Boston Wednesday when it blew a ninth-inning lead.
Wainwright has proven to be vulnerable on the road and Taillon isn’t too far removed from getting shelled. Although PNC Park is known as a pitcher’s park, the formula is here for the game to include a lot of runs.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: CARDINALS/PIRATES OVER 9