Cardinals vs. Pirates Pick
Are the St. Louis Cardinals going to win a fifth straight game when they play at the Pittsburgh Pirates Saturday night? Game time is 7:05PM EST.
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, the Cardinals are a -118 favorite to win on the moneyline. The Pirates are a -102 underdog and the over-under is set at 8.
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Lance Lynn (11-7, 3.09 ERA) will be on the hill for St. Louis, while Pittsburgh counters with Gerrit Cole (11-11, 4.13). Lynn holds a 1.18 WHIP with 147 strikeouts over 180 2/3 innings. He allowed three earned runs on five hits with five strikeouts and four walks over four innings in a 4-3 loss at the Cubs his last start. Lynn has a 3.14 ERA in 97 1/3 road innings. Cole has a 1.23 WHIP with 184 strikeouts in 192 innings. He surrendered four earned runs on three hits with six strikeouts and four walks over five innings in a 5-2 loss at the Reds his last outing. Cole has a 4.08 ERA in 88 1/3 home innings.
St. Louis enters with an 81-72 record and 39-40 on the road, while Pittsburgh is 69-85 and 40-37 at home. The Cardinals have won seven of the last 10 meetings and the total has gone under seven times including the last five games.
On Friday night, St. Louis posted a 4-3 victory in the series opener by scoring twice in the top of the ninth inning. Dexter Fowler was 2-for-4 with two RBIs in the win. Stephen Piscotty added two hits including a double. Juan Nicasio earned the win in relief. David Freese paced the Pirates with an RBI double. Felipo Rivero suffered the loss out of the bullpen.
St. Louis has a good price here and is the better team with the more consistent pitcher on the mound in Lynn. It’s difficult to trust the Pirates offense or Cole, who every time it looks like he has put it back together with a spectacular start he follows it with a dud or two. Sure, this could be one of those times Cole throws a gem but don’t count on it. And even if he does throw a great game, the potential is there for Lynn to be even better against a subpar Pirates offense.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: ST. LOUIS CARDINALS -118