Friday night baseball and we will see the St Louis Cardinals take on the Pittsburgh Pirates in game 1 of their 3 game series from PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pa. First pitch is scheduled for a 7.05 PM (Eastern) start time and the game will be televised on MLB Network.
Current Odds
St Louis -130
Pittsburgh +110
Over/ Under: 7 U -115
Analysis: Not a great start for the defending National League champs, but they do come in at 18-17 overall and have won 3 of their last 4 games on this trip. Surprisingly it has been the offense that has been trouble for the Cardinals this year, as they come in ranked 27th in the league in scoring (3.63 rpg), 18th in hitting (.248) and 26th in homers (21). Not numbers you're used to seeing from the Cardinals. Mett Adams leads the team in hits (42), while Jhonny Peralta leads them in homers (7) and Matt Holliday leads them in RBIs (22). Pitching has not been a problem for this team as they come in ranked 2nd in the league in ERA (2.95) and 2nd in WHIP (1.15). Getting the ball for the Cards will be Michael Wacha, who is 2-3 on the year, but with a very nice 2.55 ERA. Wacha is facing the Pirates for the first time since Game 4 of last year’s NL Division Series, in which he threw 7 1/3 no-hit innings before allowing a solo homer to Pedro Alvarez.
For Pittsburgh, they are off to a poor start following a year in which they went to the playoffs for the first time in 21 years. The Pirates come in at 14-20 overall and just 10-10 at home. Pitt has won 2 in a row, but are also just 2-7 in their last 9 games off a win. THe Pirates struggle on offense, like always, as they are ranked just 22nd in scoring (3.94 rpg) and 23rd in hitting (.238). They are 13th in homers with 31 and are led by Predro Alvarez in that department with 8. Pedro also leads them in RBIs (22), While Andrew McCutchen leads them in hits (42). The Pirates are middle of the pack in pitching, ranking 18th in ERA (3.90) and 12th in WHIP (1.29). Francisco Liriano had a great year last year, but has struggled out the gate this year, going 0-3 with a 4.54 ERA so far. Liriano is 4-1 with a 1.85 ERA in 6 career starts vs the Cardinals.
Pick: I like the Cardinals in this one, even though I know that they have struggled vs lefties the past couple of years. Still they will be facing a struggling Liriano, who has a 5.68 ERA in his last 3 starts and a 4.76 ERA at home for the year. Michael Wacha has not had many struggles this year and even though he is 0-3 on the road, he still has a 1.90 ERA in those games. The Cards have averaged 4.5 rpg in their last 10 games, while the Pirates have allowed 5.2 rpg over the same stretch. I look for the St Louis offense to have a solid game vs Liriano, while the Pirates will not get much off of Wacha, who has allowed just 1 ER in 2 career starts vs Pittsburgh.
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MLB Free Picks: St Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates Betting
What pro basketball bettors need to know about St Louis Cardinals vs Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday (5/09/14) - a free pick from Pregame.com's Marco D'Angelo, with added insight from Ken Thomson.