Wednesday night baseball and we will see the St Louis Cardinals take on the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park in Pittsburgh First pitch is scheduled for a 7:05 PM (Eastern) start time and the game will be televised on ESPN.
Current Odds
St Louis -118
Pittsburgh +108
Over/ Under: 7 -120
Analysis: The Cardinals have lost a season-worst six straight games and have been outscored 28-6 during the stretch. St. Louis All-Star catcher Yadier Molina left Tuesday’s second game with a strained right knee and appears headed to the disabled list. During that skid, the Cardinals (62-43) batted .155 with one home run. Carlos Beltran is 4 for his last 32 (.125), Daniel Descalso is 0 for his last 16 with five strikeouts and Matt Carpenter is 2 for his last 24 (.083). Adam Wainwright has been one of the top pitchers in baseball and the Cardinals badly need a strong performance with their bats being so silent. He lost to the Atlanta Braves in his last start after winning his three previous decisions. Wainwright is 8-4 with a 5.20 ERA in 19 career appearances (15 starts) against Pittsburgh. Pirates CF Andrew McCutchen is 9-for-21 with three doubles and a triple against Wainwright.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have the best record in the majors and look to beat the St. Louis Cardinals for the fourth time in three days when the teams meet tonight in the fourth contest of a five-game set. The Pirates swept a doubleheader from St. Louis on Tuesday to take a 1 1/2-game lead over the Cardinals in the National League Central. Pittsburgh has outscored St. Louis 17-3 in the first three games. Pittsburgh's bullpen pitched six scoreless innings on Tuesday. Mark Melancon, with a 0.89 ERA, has allowed just one run and 14 baserunners in his last 20 innings. Jeanmar Gomez, who completed the sweep with two hitless innings, has posted a 1.04 ERA since transitioning back into the bullpen. Jeff Locke has lost two of his last three starts despite allowing five runs and 12 hits in 19 2/3 innings. He has given up two or fewer runs in each of his last eight outings. Locke blanked St. Louis on three hits over seven innings April 28 to win his lone career start against the Cardinals.
Pick: Have to go with the under here. The Cardinal offense has really struggled of late and now they will be without their best hitter in Yadier Molina. Now they face Jeff Locke, who has been very solid for Pittsburgh this year. Jeff has a nice 2.56 ERA at home and a 2.28 ERA at night. Overall his ERA is just 2.15, but the Pirates are only 11-9 in those games and that's because they give him just 3.25 rpg worth of support.Overall this year, Jeff's games have averaged just 5.85 rpg, while his home starts have put up just 5.44 rpg and his night starts have averaged 5.62 rpg. Low scoring games all around when this guys is on the mound. Adam Wainright has struggled some with the Pirates, but this will be the first time he has faced them this year and he is pitching very good at the moment, with a 2.79 ERA in his last 7 starts, and he has a solid 3.00 ERA on the road this year. With their offense struggling so much and now missing Molina, you can expect a very good effort from Adam tonight, even vs a Pirate offense that has been hitting pretty good of late. This game has the feel of a classic pitcher's duel tonight on ESPN.
MARCO D'ANGELO FRIDAY NIGHT FACEOFF! YOU COULD WIN $50,000 CASH! (Click Here)
-$25 of picks FREE! No Obligation - No Credit Card Required - Becoming a member is Fast and Free!
March Marco Contest is back. FREE to Enter!!! CLICK TO ENTER
Stay on top of the latest odds and line moves for MLB Season with our real-time odds from Las Vegas and offshore!
MLB Free Picks: New York Yankees at Los Angeles Dodgers Betting
What baseball bettors need to know about New York Yankees at Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday (7/31/13) - a free pick from Pregame.com's Bryan Leonard, with Vegas Runner host Steve Fezzik.