Cardinals vs. Pirates Pick
The St. Louis Cardinals and host Cincinnati Reds will continue their series Tuesday night at 7:10PM EST.
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, the Cardinals are a -112 favorite to win on the moneyline. The Reds are a -108 underdog and the over-under is set at 9.5.
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On the mound for the Cardinals will be Jack Flaherty (0-1, 6.08 ERA), while the Reds counter with Jackson Stephens (2-0, 2.38). Flaherty holds a 1.65 WHIP with 13 strikeouts in 13 1/3 innings. He allowed three earned runs on four hits with three strikeouts and two walks over 4 1/3 innings in a 6-0 home loss to the Reds his last start. Stephens has a 0.97 WHIP with 11 strikeouts in 11 1/3 innings. His last three appeareances have been out of the bullpen, last firing three scoreless innings with two hits allowed and one strikeout in a 5-2 loss at the Cardinals on September 14.
St. Louis has a 77-72 overall record and is 35-40 on the road, while Pittsburgh is 66-84 and 39-36 at home. The last 10 meetings have been gone 5-5, while the over-under is also 5-5 in those games.
Over the weekend, the Cardinals were swept in a three-game series at the Cubs including a 4-3 decision Sunday. Tommy Pham was 3-for-5 in the loss, while Dexter Fowler went 2-for-5 with a three-run homer. Tyler Lyons took the loss in relief. The Reds swept the Pirates at home, winning Sunday’s game 5-2. Eugenio Suarez and Scooter Gennett both hit a two-run homer in the victory. Robert Stephenson allowed one hit and walked three while striking out eight in six shutout innings to pick up the win. Michael Lorenzen picked up his second save.
Flaherty is one of St. Louis’ top prospects, but he hasn’t show he is quite ready for Major League Baseball. Cincinnati got to him pretty good in his last start. Stephens has done well out of the bullpen in a few outings, but his pitch count will be limited here and I’d suspect the Cardinals figure him out to a degree. This is a hitter’s haven and I’d expect both squads to put enough runs on the board to allow the total to go over.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: CARDINALS/REDS OVER 9.5