Sunday afternoon baseball and we will see the Pittsburgh Pirates take on the St Louis Cardinals in game 3 of their 3 game series from St Louis. The game is scheduled for a 2:15 (ET) pm start time and it will be televised live on Root Sports (Pittsburgh) and FS Midwest (St. Louis). Currently the odds have St Louis favored at -155, while Boston is dogs of +146. The total for the game sits at 8.5 runs.
Free Analysis: Pittsburgh has dropped seven of 10 but is still in position for its first playoff appearance in 20 years. Star center fielder Andrew McCutchen, hitting .356 with 73 RBIs, went 0-for-5 in Saturday’s loss and has gone three straight games without an extra-base hit. The Pirates struck out 14 times in the loss and have fallen to 29-31 on the road. In addition to the strikeouts, Pittsburgh went 1 for 14 with runners in scoring position. Jeff Karstens (4-3, 3.91) takes the mound for the Pirates in the series finale. The right-hander beat the Cardinals in St. Louis on June 30, allowing two runs and four hits in seven innings to improve to 2-2 with a 3.86 ERA in eight career games against them. Karstens saw his four-decision winning streak snapped Monday, when he yielded four runs over seven innings of a 5-4 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He has struggled on the road, with a 2-2 mark and a 5.66 ERA. St. Louis, which is 6-5 against the Pirates this season, can tie Pittsburgh for the second wild-card spot with a win. St. Louis (65-55) broke through Saturday for 11 hits, one more than the club totaled while losing its previous two games by identical 2-1 scores. Shane Robinson had two hits and two RBIs and Rafael Furcal scored twice. The Cardinals got a huge lift Saturday from the return of All-Star catcher Yadier Molina, who had missed three games with a sore back. Molina had three hits, including a two-run double, in the 5-4 win. The Cardinals are hoping for a similar boost from Garcia (3-4, 4.48 ERA), who has been sidelined since June 5 due to shoulder fatigue. Garcia made four rehab starts at Triple-A Memphis. On Tuesday, he fanned eight and walked three in five innings. "The report I was given, he was in the zone for the most part and seemed to have good life and the deception he always has," manager Mike Matheny told reporters. Garcia won 13 games each of the past two seasons. In four career appearances against Pittsburgh, Garcia is 1-1 with a 1.08 ERA. These teams will conclude their season series with three games in Pittsburgh starting August 27.
Free Pick: I like the Cards in this one. st Louis welcomes back Jaime Garcia, who was shut down with a shoulder strain more than two months ago. Jaime did struggle in his last 2 starts before going on the DL, but he has looked very sharp in his 4 rehab stints. Jaime is just 1-2 at home, but with a solid 3.86 ERA and in 2 career starts vs Pittsburgh he is 1-1 with a skinny 1.35 ERA. Jeff Karstens has pitched well for the pirates, but he can struggle on the road with a 5.66 ERA. Jeff did win here earlier in the year, but is still just 1-1 with a 6.19 ERA in his last 4 starts vs the Cards. I look for St Louis to exact some revenge over Karstens, as they continue their push for a playoff spot.
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