St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates Betting Preview

St. Louis Cardinals at Pittsburgh Pirates Betting Preview

The St. Louis Cardinals (56-56) are getting healthy as they make a run at the National League Wild Card race. Pitchers Jack Flaherty and Miles Mikolas are both coming back off the injured list this week as the Cardinals take on the last-place Pittsburgh Pirates (41-72). Game two of a three-game series is set for 7:05 pm ET at PNC Park in Pennsylvania on Wednesday.

The Cardinals limited the Pirates to one hit in the 4-1 win on Tuesday. The Cardinals send veteran right-hander Adam Wainwright (10-6, 3.48) to the mound on Wednesday against Pirates RHP Will Crowe (3-6, 5.47). St. Louis leads the season series 7-3 with another four-game set in Pittsburgh at the end of August.

Cardinals Starters Doing the Job

St. Louis has struggled on the road this season, going 23-31. The offense is ranked in the bottom 10 in the Majors in batting average (.235), OPS (.696), and runs per game (4.13). The Cardinals’ pitching staff has allowed three runs or less in each of their last five wins and are 13-9 in Wainwright’s 22 starts this season.

The Cardinals clubbed a pair of homers on Tuesday, with Tommy Edman starting the game with a solo shot. Paul DeJong hit his 15th of the season an inning later, and Dylan Carlson went 3-for-4 in the win.

Wainwright has turned back the clock as of late, going 7-1 over his last 11 starts with at least seven innings of work in seven of those outings. Last time out, he allowed two runs over seven innings while striking out six in a win over Kansas City on Friday. Wainwright posted a 2.84 ERA since June 3

He beat the Pirates on June 26 with one run allowed over six innings while striking out eight and walking one. The 39-year-old is 18-7 in his career against the Pirates, tied with Milwaukee for the most wins he has against any team. Colin Moran (7-for-20) and Gregory Polanco (2-for-20) both have homers against Wainwright in their careers, while Brian Reynolds is 4-for-15.

Pirates Offense is Woeful

The Pirates offense is also ranked in the bottom 10 in the Majors in runs per game (3.76), average (.234), OPS (.668), and home runs per game (0.81). They traded away leading hitting Adam Frazier at the trade deadline, and they have lost seven games in a row. The Pirates have scored just 12 runs during their losing streak and have had just one starter go more than five innings in August.

The Pirates only hit on Tuesday came off the bat of Hoy Park, a solo home run in the fourth inning. Of their offensive starters on Tuesday, only Reynolds and Park are batting over .250.

Crowe is in his second season in the Majors and his first with the Pirates. Last time out, he allowed seven runs, three earned, on eight hits over four innings while losing at the Reds on Thursday.

Crowe is 1-1 against the Cardinals this season during a 3-0 loss in May and a 5-4 win in June. He has allowed home runs to Nolan Arenado, Harrison Nader, and Dylan Carlson. Tyler O’Neill is 2-for-4 against Crowe, while Yadier Molina is 1-for3.

Betting Analysis

  • Cardinals -170 Moneyline. -1.5 (-110) Run Line
  • Pirates +150 Moneyline. +1.5 (-110) Run Line
  • Total Runs 9. Over -105, Under -115

Wainwright has been pitching really well over the last two months, and the Pirates’ anemic offense shouldn’t pose much of a threat. The Cardinals’ offense hasn’t been great either, especially away from home. This series and a trip to Kansas City with Flaherty and Mikolas coming back are crucial to the Cards’ chances of chasing down the Cincinnati Reds and San Diego Padres in the Wild Card race.

FREE PICK: Under 9 runs (-105)

 

Ryan has been one of the leading sports business & iGaming professionals for over 15 years. He started as a freelance writer and now operates one of the top sports content agencies around, Knup Solutions. He has literally written 10,000 plus sports and betting related articles across the web.

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