The St. Louis Cardinals welcome in the Pittsburgh Pirates tonight in Major League Baseball action. The game is scheduled for an 8:10 p.m. start time and it will be televised live on ESPN. Currently the odds for the game have the Cardinals favored to pick up the victory in this matchup at home.
An excellent pitching matchup here tonight, Gerrit Cole goes up against Michael Wacha live on ESPN. The Pirates and Cardinals are both playoff teams, but the Cardinals have been running away with the National League Central this season. Pittsburgh's struggles on the road have put them in this tough position, being six games behind St. Louis and the Chicago Cubs have really been charging hard, winning nine of their last 10 games overall and sitting 2.5 games behind the Pirates now. The rest of the season is going to be fun to watch with these three teams fighting to get into the playoffs, though if the post season started today all three teams would qualify.
Cole is 14-5 on the year, sporting a 2.39 ERA while going 8-2 on the road in 11 starts. Cole beat the Cardinals earlier this season, throwing seven innings while allowing two earned runs and striking out just three. Current Cardinals are hitting .269 against him in 119 at bats. Matt Carpenter has two home runs, Brandon Moss, Mark Reynolds and Kolten Wong have all gone deep against him as well. While they have gotten some good swings and gone deep against Cole, that foursome is also hitting a decent .275 (11-for-40) against him as well.
Wacha has been very good for the Cardinals this season, he's 13-4 this year with a 2.92 ERA in 21 starts. Wacha has been amazing at home as well, winning five of his nine starts while holding opponents to a .203 average and striking out 45 in 57 1/3 innings. Wacha's ERA at home is 2.51, more than a half-run lower than it is on the road, which comes as no surprise.
In two starts against the Pirates this season Wacha has a 1-0 record, a 1.42 ERA and has walked just two in 12 2/3 innings. Current Pirates are hitting .238 against him in 80 plate appearances. Aramis Ramirez has a home run in his career off Wacha, Andrew McCutchen has five hits in 12 at bats (.417).
This game should be a good one, again, but the Cardinals are just too good at home. They won a 4-3 decision last night and tonight's game has that type of feel as well.
Free Pick: Cardinals
Oakland Raiders: 2015 NFL Free Picks & Betting Odds
Vegas betting expert Steve Fezzik doesn’t expect the bad situation in Oakland to get much better this season. This AFC West team may have some improvements in terms of personnel, but Jack Del Rio is the latest in a carousel of ever-changing mediocre coaches, and Fezzik doesn’t expect he is the guy to turn this team around. He also thinks people are overstating Derek Carr’s abilities at quarterback, as he may do well in the fourth quarter, but his numbers are padded with garbage time performance.
$25 of picks FREE! No Obligation - No Credit Card Required - Becoming a member is Fast and Free!
Stay on top of the latest odds and line moves for MLB Season with our real-time odds from Las Vegas and offshore!