Sunday night baseball and we will see the St Louis Cardinals take on the Pittsburgh Pirates in game 3 of their 3 game series from PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pa. First pitch is scheduled for an 8.05 PM (Eastern) start time and the game will be televised on ESPN.
Current Odds
St Louis -110
Pittsburgh +100
Over/ Under: 7.5 O -115
Analysis: Not a great start for the defending National League champs, as they come in at 18-19 on the year, including just 11-14 on the road. 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 (3.62 rpg), 18th in hitting (.247) and 27th in homers (23). Not numbers you're used to seeing from the Cardinals. Matt Adams leads the team in hits (43), while Jhonny Peralta leads them in homers (8) and Matt Holliday leads them in RBIs (22). Pitching has not been a problem for this team as they come in ranked 4th in the league in ERA (3.08) and 5th in WHIP (1.17). Getting the ball for the Cards will be Shelby Miller, who is 4-2 on the year, with a 3.20 ERA. Miller has gone just 1-4 with a 5.43 ERA in his last 5 starts vs the Pirates.
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 16-20 overall, but they have taken the first 2 of this series and have won 4 in a row overall. The Pirates struggle on offense, like always, as they are ranked just 18th in scoring (4.00 rpg) and 20th in hitting (.245). They are 14th in homers with 32 and are led by Pedro Alvarez in that department with 8. Pedro also leads them in RBIs (23), while Andrew McCutchen leads them in hits (43). The Pirates are middle of the pack in pitching, ranking 18th in ERA (3.88) and 15th in WHIP (1.29). Charlie Morton gets the ball for the pirates tonight and he has pitched well with a 3.45 ERA, but due to lack of run support he has been saddled with an 0-4 record on the year. He has also struggled with the Cards of late, as he is 0-4 with a 7.04 ERA in his last 5 starts vs them.
Pick: Going with the Cardinals Tonight. Both pitchers have struggled vs today's opponents, but I just can't see the better Cardinals getting swept in this series. They do have a better time vs righties and Shelby Miller is pitching better than Morton is right now. Miller has faced the Pirates twice this year and in his last start he allowed 0 ERs in 5.2 innings of work. I look for the Cardinals to get back to winning tonight.
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