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It is an NL Central showdown as the St. Louis Cardinals visit the Pittsburgh Pirates. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with a Cardinals-Pirates prediction, pick, and how to watch.
Yesterday was another ugly loss for the Cardinals. The Pirates took an early lead on an infield single and a wild pitch that led to two runs. Liover Peguero would add two more in the third on a bases-loaded single. Then, Connor Joe would drive a run home in the fifth, followed by a three-run home run by Joshua Palacios to give the Pirates an 8-0 lead. Andrew Knizner would hit a solo shot in the fifth to give the Cardinals their only run of the day, and the Cardinals would lose 11-1.
While the Pirates got a win, their focus is also on the future. After leading the division in the early parts of June, they have completely fallen out of the race.
Here are the Cardinals-Pirates MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Cardinals-Pirates Odds
St. Louis Cardinals: +1.5 (-182)
Pittsburgh Pirates: -1.5 (+150)
Over: 9.5 (-115)
Under: 9.5 (-105)
How To Watch Cardinals vs. Pirates
TV: BSMW/ATT
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 7:05 PM ET/ 4:05 PM PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Cardinals Could Cover The Spread
For the Cardinals, they have to get better pitching. In the last six games, they have given up 46 runs and lost five times. In the year they are 23rd in team ERA, 27th in WHIP, and 29th in opponent batting average. It will be Adam Wainwright on the mound today for the Cardinals. He is 3-8 on the season with an 8.42 ERA. Wainwright has been awful in his last three starts. He has given up 18 runs with three home runs while pitching just ten innings. He has given up seven or more runs in three of his last six starts, and the Cardinals have won just one of his last seven starts. Wainwright needs to turn back the clock today if the Cardinals are going to get a win.
Meanwhile, on offense, the Cardinals are 14th in runs scored, ninth in batting average, fourth in on-base percentage, and seventh in slugging. If they cannot slow down the Pirates, they will attempt to just score a ton of runs. Paul Goldschmidt has been the most productive bat in the offense as of late. In the last week, he is hitting .259 with a .310 on-base percentage. He has a home run with four RBIs in the last week, while also hitting two doubles. This has led to him scoring three times in the last week.
Richie Palacios is also looking to keep stringing together solid games. He is hitting .300 in the last week and has a double with three RBIs. While he has not walked in the last week, he also has not struck out. He is the only player on the Cardinals to not have a strikeout in the last week. Meanwhile, Andrew Knizner is hitting well. In the last week, he is hitting .400 with a .550 on-base percentage. He has a home run and two RBIs while scoring twice in the last week.
Why The Pirates Could Cover The Spread
The Pirates boomed for 11 runs last night, and the offense has been boom or bust as of late. Over the last six games, they are 3-3. In the three losses, they have combined for four runs. In the three wins, they have scored 25 runs. On the year, the Pirates are 23rd in runs scored, 26th in batting average, 21st in on-base percentage, and 25th in slugging. The offense has been led by Bryan Reynolds all year. He leads the team in batting average and RBIs this year. This month, he is continuing to hit well. He is hitting .310 this month with a .363 on-base percentage. With the help of four doubles, a triple, and six home runs, he has driven in 11 runs. Meanwhile, he has also scored 15 times.
Joining Reynolds in driving in runs are Andrew McCutchen and Joshua Palacios. Neither is hitting well, but they are producing. McCutchen is hitting .211 over the last week, with a .348 on-base percentage. He has a home run and five RBIs in the last week while scoring three times. Palacios is hitting even worse. He is hitting just .154 in the last week with a .267 on-base percentage. Still, with the help of a double and a home run, he also has five RBIs in the last week and has scored two times.
As a whole, the Pirates are hitting .248 over the last week with a .365 on-base percentage. They need to do better in capitalizing on run-scoring opportunities. Their expected runs over the last week are just over 32, but they have scored just 29. If they can capitalize tonight as they did last night, it will be an easy win.
Hoping to help them out is tonight's pitcher, Johan Oviedo. Oviedo is 6-13 on the season with a 4.55 ERA. This month has been fairly consistent with his season as a whole. He started the month with two starts going for 14 innings and just one run. In the next two starts, it was nine innings and ten runs surrendered. That gives him a 4.30 ERA on the month, just below his average for the year. He has faced the Cardinals once this year. It was back in April, and he went seven innings giving up just one run, but taking the loss, as the Pirates fell 3-0.
Final Cardinals-Pirates Prediction & Pick
Johan Oviedo has not been very good this year. He has been slightly better since the All-Star break, but not great overall. Still, he has been much better than Wainwright. Adam Wainwright has given up 22 hits and 18 runs in his last ten innings of work. He is not striking out batters and is giving up great contact. With how the Pirates exploded last night, they have an even better match-up tonight. The Cardinals will score against Oviedo, but it will not be enough. Take the Pirates in this one.
Final Cardinals-Pirates Prediction & Pick: Pirates -1.5 (+150)
